A/N: Aha! I'm not late this time! Yes! Oh, and any French translations you need will be in author's note at the bottom. You probably don't know what I'm talking about, so just read on and you'll find out!

Disclaimer: What? I own all the rights to Soul Eater, Ouran, AND Fullmetal? Wow, I must be dreaming! . . . Oh wait, I am. Darn it . . .

Chapter 4

Later that evening . . .

Ed and Al stared openmouthed as they exited the limo at Tamaki's house. It was one of the biggest houses they'd ever seen, and they could only imagine what the Suoh Mansion number one must look like. Tamaki led them inside and introduced them to his servants, who eyed the brothers with curious and suspicious looks as they passed.

"These two will be my honored guests for as long as they need to stay, so please treat them as such," Tamaki told the servants as he led Ed and Al up the staircase. He paused and turned to the maids waiting at the bottom of the stairs. "Oh, and would you mind fetching two pairs of pajamas and taking them up to the guest bedrooms? Thank you!"

He continued up the stairs, gesturing for Ed and Al to follow, until they eventually ended up in what the brothers presumed to be one of the many guest bedrooms.

"Ed, you can stay here, and Al, you can go in the room next door," Tamaki informed them.

"Okay, thanks," Al replied, and Tamaki pointed to a room down the hall.

"I'll be in that room over there if you need me. Dinner will be served around seven, so feel free to explore the house until then. I'm sorry, but I have to do some schoolwork before it gets too late . . . Will you two be alright on your own?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Ed said, waving away Tamaki's concerns. Tamaki grinned and then started to walk out of the room.

"Alright, well just ask any of the servants if you need anything." He paused and turned back to Alphonse. "You know, Al, you don't have to stay in that suit of armor. If you need a set of clean clothes or something I can lend you some."

"Oh, no, it's fine," Al said quickly. "I prefer to stay in the armor, if that's okay." Tamaki shrugged.

"Whatever makes you happy. See you at seven!"

With a wave, he disappeared down the hallway. Ed and Al glanced at each other before deciding to accept Tamaki's offer of exploring the house, hoping that there might be a sliver of explanation as to why they had ended up in this strange place where alchemy was unheard of. Unfortunately, they didn't find anything, and no matter how many servants they asked, no one had ever heard of alchemy or Central before. Soon, it was dinnertime, and Tamaki, Ed, and Al gathered around the table.

"Aren't your parents going to join us?" Al asked when Tamaki told them all to dig in.

"My dad lives in Suoh mansion number one, so he eats there," Tamaki explained. When he didn't say anything more, Ed asked, hesitantly:

"And what about your mother?"

"She's somewhere in France, I think."

"You think?"

"Uh-huh. Now, what was that thing you were talking about before? Acklemy, or something?"

"Oh, you mean alchemy," Al corrected, guessing that Tamaki didn't really have the desire to discuss his family life. "Like we said before, it's the science of deconstructing and reconstructing matter. That is, you can break something down and then recreate a new substance from the same materials."

"But they have to be equal," Ed said through a mouthful of food. His brother made a disapproving noise, so Ed swallowed before continuing. "'To obtain, something of equal value must be lost.' That's the law of equivalent exchange, and you can't surpass that."

"Why?" Tamaki asked, frowning as he tried to absorb all of the information.

"That's just the way it works. Bad things happen if you try to cheat that law . . ." Ed and Al both stared down somberly, and Tamaki wondered if they knew that fact from experience. But, he sensed that they didn't want to discuss it, and so he settled for trying to change the topic to stop the depressing silence issuing from the two brothers.

"Al, aren't you hungry? You haven't touched your food!"

"What? Oh, yeah, I-I just don't really have much of an appetite right now," Al said. It sounded to Tamaki like that wasn't really the reason he wasn't eating, but he decided not to push it; the brothers seemed like they didn't like being nagged for information.

The rest of dinner passed fairly quickly, with the Elric brothers explaining more about alchemy. Tamaki still couldn't quite grasp all of the finer details, but he was able to understand the law of equivalent exchange and what the greatest taboo an alchemist could ever commit was: human transmutation. They only explained what it meant briefly, but when Tamaki asked for more information they just shook their heads and changed the subject.

Eventually, the boys left the table and wandered off into their respective rooms. Ed and Al were surprised to see a set of silk pajamas on their beds- blue ones for Ed, and purple ones for Al. Since Alphonse couldn't change into them and had nothing else to do, he went over to Ed's room and knocked on the door.

"Brother, can I come in?"

"Yeah, actually I think I might need your help," came Ed's muffled reply through the door.

"With putting on pajamas?" Al questioned, opening the door. He found Ed in the process of trying to button the shirt, but he seemed to be having difficulties.

"The fabric keeps catching in my auto-mail," Ed explained, as Al went over to help him.

"Brother, you need to be more careful," Al chided. "Look- you already ripped up the fabric!"

"It's not my fault!"

"Hey, are you guys alright in . . ." Tamaki trailed off as he came into the room. His mouth opened in confusion, and Ed and Al realized that he was staring at Ed's arm. More specifically, at Ed's auto-mail arm. The brothers exchanged a glance, wondering how Tamaki was going to react.

"Is . . . is that real?" Tamaki asked, cautiously walking up to Ed. He raised his hand as if to touch him arm, but then he stopped.

"Uh, yeah," Ed said. He sighed; he'd hoped he could hide the fact that he had two prosthetic limbs until tomorrow, when he and Al would be able to look for a way out of this strange place. Then no one would ever question what had happened, and no one would ever know what the brothers had tried to do all those years ago. But, now that plan had been ruined.

"What . . . I mean, how?" Tamaki questioned softly, looking into Ed's eyes. "How did it happen?"

Ed was about to tell him that it had been a car accident that took away his arm, but something in Tamaki's expression made him stop before he could utter the lie. There was just something about Tamaki that made Ed feel like he should tell him the truth, and if he did, that Tamaki would understand. Ed took a deep breath.

"I lost my arm . . . because we tried to bring our mother back from the dead."

"Brother!" Al exclaimed as Tamaki gasped. Before anyone could say anything else, Ed rushed on.

"Well, actually, I lost my leg trying to bring my mother back-"

"You lost your leg, too?" Tamaki cut in, and Ed nodded, lifting up the left leg of his pants (which were much too long for him) to reveal his auto-mail foot. "Oh my god . . ."

"Yeah, so anyway, I lost my leg, but Al lost his entire body," Ed continued, and Tamaki stared at Alphonse, shock plastered across his face. "I managed to tie his soul to the suit of armor, but it cost me my right arm. When Al woke up, he took me to our friend Winry's place, and she fixed me up with these auto-mail limbs. She's a mechanic, so it was pretty easy for her." Ed paused, taking another deep breath.

"And there you have it," he finished. "Now you know that we committed the ultimate taboo, and we paid the price for it."

There was a strained silence after Ed's explanation as Tamaki digested their story. Ed and Al waited nervously for his reaction, wondering if he was going to throw them out or call them crazy fools or something that most people had done before. What they weren't prepared for, however, was the actual reaction they got.

"Oh, you poor, poor brothers!" Tamaki sobbed, throwing his arms around Ed in a crushing hug. "All you wanted to do was bring your dear mother back, and look at the horrible price you had to pay for it! C'est très injuste!"

"W-what?" Ed said, trying to dislodge Tamaki from where he was sobbing into his shoulder.

"Oh, Edward, you must have suffered so much!" Tamaki glanced at Al, and then he immediately released Ed to cling to the suit of armor.

"And Alphonse, I can't imagine what you must have gone through, losing your entire body!" he said as Al tried to get away.

"U-um, Brother?" Al said, looking at Ed questioningly, but Ed seemed just as shocked by Tamaki's response as he was. After a few moments, Tamaki let go of Al and stepped back, wiping his eyes off on his sleeve.

"Well now, that story may just explain something, as sad as it is," he said. "That thing you said you were looking for earlier- can it be used to restore your original bodies?"

The brothers stared at Tamaki, openmouthed.

"How did you know that?" Ed exclaimed, and Tamaki's mouth rose up in a half-smile.

"Well, that's what I would do if I were in your position." The brothers just continued to gape at him.

"You don't think we're some horrible people who defied the laws of alchemy and needed to be punished?" Al asked, and Tamaki shook his head.

"Of course not! You were only doing what you thought was right, so why should you be punished for it?" Ed and Al had no response to this, shocked that a boy they just met not even a day ago could learn what they had done and yet fully support them for it. No one had ever done that before . . .

"Well, if what you're looking for can help restore your bodies, then I'm going to give every effort I can to help you find it," Tamaki said.

""Really?"" the brothers asked.

"Of course!" Tamaki replied, grinning. "After all you're both mes amis, are you not?"

Ed and Al looked at each other, a slow grin spreading across Ed's face, and he knew that inside his brother was smiling as well.

"Thank you, Tamaki," Ed said, and Tamaki just patted him on the shoulder. The brothers sighed and let out a chuckle of relief, happy to have found an ally in this strange new world.

The next day at school . . .

When Tamaki, Ed, and Al got to Ouran, they immediately made their way to the chairman's office to talk to Tamaki's father about having the brothers stay at school and at Suoh Mansion number two. Ed and Al had wanted to leave, but Tamaki had convinced them to stay, saying that if they specifically ended up at Ouran when they got sent into this new world, then that was the most likely place they were going to find a clue on how to get home. Tamaki had then explained that the chairman was actually his father, and Tamaki might be able to convince him to let Ed and Al stay at Ouran. So, that trio had set off that morning ready to get Ed and Al officially registered at the school.

When they got to the chairman's office, the secretary immediately welcomed them in and told them to just go right ahead into Mr. Suoh's office. They did so, and found Tamaki's father sitting at his desk, looking something up on the computer.

"Dad," Tamaki said, startling the chairman. He jumped up and stared at the trio suspiciously for a second, before his gaze settled on Tamaki and he relaxed slightly.

"Tamaki?" he asked, sounding as if he'd been expecting someone else. "What are you doing here? And who are these two?"

"Um, these are some friends I met yesterday, and I was wondering if you might be able to let them stay at Ouran for a while; if not permanently, then maybe as a trial period to see how they like it," Tamaki explained as his father walked over to them. Tamaki didn't quite know why, but he was starting to get a weird feeling about his dad, almost as if the chairman wasn't really who he claimed to be. However, Tamaki just brushed off these feelings, trying to account them to the fact that he hadn't actually seen or heard from his dad in a few days, so it was kind of a sudden meeting.

"Well, do you two have any paperwork with you that I can look at?" the chairman asked, addressing Ed and Al. He raised one eyebrow at Alphonse's armor, but made no comment.

"Um, no, we haven't had a chance to get it transferred yet," Ed said nervously, not liking how intently Mr. Suoh was examining his brother. After a second, the chairman turned to him.

"I'm not sure how you expect to transfer without any paperwork, but I may be able to let you stay for a trial period. What are your names?"

"I'm Edward Elric and he's Alphonse Elric," Ed informed the chairman as he started to walk back to his computer. Suddenly, the chairman froze. Slowly, he turned around to face Ed, his eyes wide.

"Edward Elric?" he repeated softly. He narrowed his eyes. "As in . . . the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

Tamaki and Ed's mouths fell open, and Alphonse let out a little gasp of surprise.

"Dad, how did you know that?" Tamaki asked, and a slow, almost malicious grin spread across the chairman's face.

"So it's true, then," he said to himself. "She actually did it . . ." All of a sudden, he rushed back to Ed and Al and held out a hand to each of them.

"Well then, this changes things," he said as Ed and Al cautiously each shook one of his hands. "Welcome to Ouran! Feel free to stay as long as you want. I'll get all of the administrative things settled soon. Enjoy your time here!"

"Whoa, whoa, hold on!" Ed exclaimed as Mr. Suoh started to usher them out the door.

"How did you know who Brother was?" Al asked. "No one around here seemed to recognize us except you!"

"I'll explain it all later," the chairman tried to reassure them as Ed dug his feet into the carpet to keep from being pushed forward.

"But-"

The boys' protests were cut off as the door opened and Crona scurried into the room. He froze when he saw Tamaki, Ed, and Al, and his eyes flicked form the boys to the chairman questioningly. He looked at a complete loss of what to do.

"Crona, perfect timing!" the chairman exclaimed enthusiastically, making Crona flinch.

"Hey, you're that kid who ran from us yesterday!" Ed said, and Crona's frightened gaze shifted to him.

"Oh, um . . .," Crona trailed off as Mr. Suoh walked over to him.

"Crona, this is my son, Tamaki," the chairman said gesturing to said boy. Crona's head whipped back and forth between them, his expression utterly confused. The chairman frowned slightly and Crona immediately gripped his arm and stared at the floor.

"We met yesterday, actually," Tamaki informed his father, smiling at Crona, remembering how shy the boy had been the day before. Crona attempted to smile back, but it turned out as more of a pained grimace.

"Oh, well that's good," the chairman said. He put his hand on Crona's shoulder, making the pink-haired boy wince. "Well, these two are the Elric brothers, Edward and Alphonse."

"Nice to formally meet you," Al said, holding his hand out for Crona to shake. Crona just stared at it uncertainly for a few seconds, until the chairman gently squeezed his shoulder. The pressure was light, but it was enough to make Crona grab Al's hand and shake it frantically.

"N-nice to meet you, too," Crona said quickly, and Ed sensed that there was something really weird about this kid.

"These two are new here, just like you, so maybe you could get adjusted to Ouran together?" the chairman suggested, but by the look he was giving Crona Ed could tell it wasn't really a choice. Ed and Al got the impression that there was something going on between Crona and the chairman, but they had no clue what it could be that would make Crona so nervous around him.

"Dad, Ed and Al are going to stay in my class, right?" Tamaki asked, and his father nodded.

"Yes, they can tag along with you until I get their schedules sorted out. Speaking of classes, you all might want to hurry, or you'll be late!"

Tamaki looked at the clock and gasped, realizing that they had only a few minutes before the first bell rang.

"Come on Ed, Al!" he said, opening the door and completely forgetting about the fact that his father had recognized who Edward was.

"Alright, we're coming!" Ed said as Tamaki disappeared with a wave to his dad. Ed followed Tamaki out the door, but Al paused.

"Thank you for letting us stay," he said to Mr. Suoh, who just inclined his head with a smile. "Bye! And bye to you too, Crona!"

"Oh, um, bye . . .," Crona called after him as Al ran to catch up with his brother. The chairman waited until he couldn't hear their footsteps anymore, and then he closed the door and whirled around to grab Crona's shoulders.

"Now you listen to me, Crona, because what I'm going to tell you is very important," he said as Crona started to tremble.

"Y-yes, Lady Medusa, I'm listening," he replied. Medusa leaned down so she was eye level with him.

"Remember how I told you that I met a woman who could help me create the philosopher's stone?" Medusa asked, and Crona nodded. "Right, well she said that she knew of a boy who was the perfect candidate to create one. He's called the Fullmetal Alchemist, but his real name is Edward Elric. Now, she actually got him to come to this school much faster than I expected her to, that's why I haven't told you any of this before; I was going to let you search around for the pure soul for a little bit before I gave you your next task, but it seems you won't get as much time to get acquainted with the school as I had hoped you would.

"So, as well as finding the pure soul, I also want you to befriend Edward, and his brother as well, since I've heard they never go anywhere without each other. Once you do this, you can find out exactly how to create a stone, and help him along the path to creating one. Do you understand what you have to do?"

"Yes, Lady Medusa," Crona replied. Medusa looked at him sternly.

"And can you do it?" she asked. Crona nodded.

"Of course, Lady Medusa."

Medusa stared at his face for a moment, before standing up and giving him a pat on the shoulder, making him wince again.

"Good boy, Crona," she said, walking over to the desk. "You're doing very well so far."

"Thank you."

"Now, hurry up and get to class so you can start looking for the soul again. And don't forget about the Elrics!" Medusa called after Crona as he hurried out the door. He nodded and then entered the secretary's office, closing the door behind him. He rushed out into the hallway and then he paused, leaning against a wall.

"Oh, this is getting to be a lot of stuff to do . . .," he groaned, sliding to the floor. "I don't know how I'm supposed to deal with it all. . ."

"Just hurry up and get to class before someone finds you!" Ragnarok commanded from the back of Crona's mind. "If you get in trouble, they'll send you to Medusa, you know that, right?"

Crona gasped and jumped up, looking around wildly until he found a sign telling him where the hallway his first class was in was. He rushed towards it, fearing the punishment he'd have to endure if he was sent to the office, and hoping that he'd be able to make friends with the Elric brothers and find that pure soul soon . . .

A/N: Here are the French translations:

C'est très injuste!- It's so unfair!

mes amis- my friends

Yes, sorry if Tamaki seems a little OOC with his speaking French, but I just felt like it would suit his character to randomly lapse into French words or phrases here and there. On a side note, I'd be crazy not to do a little advertizing on this fanfic: for those of you into Soul Eater, especially Ragnarok, you should check out my new story, called When I Was Young. It's basically the story of Ragnarok's past, from his point of view. Don't feel required to read it, I'm just putting it out there for anyone interested, because I know it's already getting buried under the more frequently updated fanfics in the Soul Eater section. Anyway, expect the next chapter for this fanfic in . . . you guessed it, two weeks! ^.^