"Yosh!" I cheered, rushing out of the bushes to pick up the ball. I couldn't resist the urge to nuzzle the bishi ball like a little kid, grinning like an idiot. "I caught an Edward Elric!"

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"Come on out Ed!" I said, releasing Edward from his confines. In a burst of red light, he reappeared, still crouched in a defensive position, although his automail blade had been changed back into his regular arm guard.

He straightened slowly, eyeing me cautiously.

"Um…hey?" I said, sounding as unsure as I felt. What were you supposed to say as way of greeting to an awesome bishounen you just surprised out in the middle of nowhere and shoved into a tiny bishi ball?

We all stood there in a circle like that for a few silent, tense minutes; Kakashi in his tree, Iruka standing behind me trying his hardest to look fierce and failing miserably, and Ed staring at us with an expectant look on his face.

"Kinda short to be a san staged bishounen, isn't he?" Kakashi finally asked with a laugh, referring to my dex' earlier announcement of Ed's capture.

I didn't say a word, just picked Iruka up and backed away slowly. Ed stood stock still for about three seconds, his face turning bright red and a vein throbbing in his temple. Then he clapped his hands together and was in the tree right next to Kakashi, thanks to a stone pillar that had exploded from the ground beneath his feet.

"WHOAREYOUCALLINGABEANBOYTOOSHORTTOREACHTHEBOTTOMSHELFOFTHEBOOKCASE?!!" He exploded, leaping for Kakashi and tackling him out of the tree. They both hit the forest floor with a thud, and I winced. We had never really seen, in the show or the manga, any reason to believe that Ed was anything more than talk, since Alphonse had always restrained him from maiming whoever insulted him. Apparently, this Ed at least could back up his talk. Kakashi must have been caught off guard by the sudden explosion from the other boy, because when they hit the ground, it was still the real Kakashi pinned under Ed's automail hand, not a shadow clone or replacement.

"Ed!" I finally said, having been stunned speechless by the display of violence, "Ed, get off of him!" I rushed forward, grabbing his flesh arm and tugging. He didn't so much as budge, but he did stop trying to beat Kakashi in the face.

"Kashi kun, never and I mean never ever ever use the s-word around Ed san. EVER." I said, "Or any variation of the word! Ed san, he didn't mean it, he's really sorry, can you please get off of him?"

Ed seemed to consider this for a moment, before climbing off the stunned shinobi, dusting off his black leather pants and straightening his red duster jacket.

"You ok 'Kashi kun?" I asked, offering a hand to help him up. He ignored it, springing to his feet and rolling his head to the side to crack his neck.

"I was just surprised." He said, making a show of straightening his flak jacket as he walked over to stand next to me.

"Well…um… welcome to the group Ed." I said awkwardly, holding out a hand to shake. He looked at us curiously for just a moment, before gripping my hand in his. I had expected something, anything, when we shook hands. A painful cold because of the steel, or maybe a super strong grip, but the glove covering his automail hand held back any cold there might be, and he had amazing control, if I didn't know any better, I would think there was nothing odd about him at all.

Kakashi and I turned, heading back to the campsite, but soon realized that we were alone. Turning around, I covered my mouth to hide the smile, while Kakashi out and out laughed. Iruka, only tall enough to face Ed's belt buckle head on, stood between Ed and the rest of us, a wooden kunai that Kakashi had carved him for training with held up in front of him. Ed, who obviously didn't know how to handle this pint sized threat, stood with his hands held up in front of him defensively, trying his hardest to hide his own smile.

"Iruka chan?" I asked carefully, stepping forward with the intent to scoop the chibi up in my arms and walk off with him.

"Tou san said I have to protect Onee chan." Iruka said as way of explanation.

"That's great sweetie…but Ed san is one of us now, see? I captured him, just like I did 'Kashi kun and your Tou san." I explained, kneeling in front of him and guiding the kunai in his hands down until it pointed at the ground instead of somewhere over my shoulder at Ed.

"He's a friend now?" I nodded, and that seemed to be good enough for Iruka, who spun the kunai in his hand, sliding it into his leg holster and snapping the case shut with a grin.

"It's nice to meet you Ed san." He said formally, bowing to the older boy.

Ed stood with one hand on his hip, the other scratching the back of his head. After a moment's hesitation at the chibi's complete 180, he managed a "Erm… yea. Nice to meet you too kid."

"Well, I dunno about you guys, but I'm still kinda hungry, and we haven't even got a fire going back at camp yet. So let's go." I said, turning back towards camp with a wave of my hand. Kakashi fell into step next to me silently, while Iruka raced off ahead of us all, disappearing into the bushes. After a moment's hesitation, I could see Ed shrug, as if to say why not, out of the corner of my eye and follow after us.

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"Here Ed san, you want some dinner?" I asked, offering the blond bishounen a plate of food. He took it silently, and turned away from the fire to shovel the food into his mouth as quickly as possible. "There's more food over here if you're still hungry, Ed san."

I sat back down in what seemed to be my now customary place by Kakashi, who handed me a plate of food before turning back to his book.

"One of these days, I'm going to steal that book from you and switch it with…well, I don't know, but I'll think of something." I grumbled, reaching out to snatch the little orange book, which Kakashi just held out of my reach with a hidden smirk.

"Danny nee chan, can I have some more rice, please?" Iruka asked, holding his plate out for me to refill.

"Sure, chibi, here you go." I said, giving him another helping.

"Arigato nee chan! So where are we headed to?" Iruka asked between mouthfuls of food.

"Well, I don't honestly have a plan, I just figured we'd wander for a while. Unless you need anything Ed san?" We all turned to face the newest addition to our group.

He stayed silent for a moment, thinking, before rattling off a list of tools, for his automail maintenance I'd assume.

"Well, let me check real quick," I said, digging out the capsule that held my motorcycle. With a puff of smoke, I was digging through the storage compartment under the seat, and came away with a handful of tools. "I have all the screwdrivers, and the 3/16ths wrench, but I don't have the 3/8ths. Sorry. Do you need it tonight? Because if you two go back into your bishi balls I can be back in town in a half an hour or so."

Ed flexed his metal arm, testing it for malfunctions no doubt, before shaking his head, "No, I'll be fine until we get to the next town, Onee san."

"Ok. I'll leave these in my backpack, if you need them." I said as I dropped the bundle of tools into my bag and capsulated my ninja once more.

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The next morning we set out down a sunlit path through the forest, and I couldn't help but feel that everything was just right for the first time since I had gotten to this world. It was a gorgeous day, I was walking with an adorable chibi and two of my favorite characters ever. If I wasn't horribly superstitious, I'd ask what could possibly go wrong.

Beep! My bishi dex beeped at me incessantly, and I pulled it out, not sure what the sound signified.

"Danny? It's Violet!" The speaker said after I flipped the lid open.

"Violet? Oh hey! How's it goin? Did you beat the gym trainer?" I asked after recognizing the face on the small screen.

"No…" she pouted, "He knocked Kiba flat, he recovered okay, but he got beat badly."

"Heeey! Vi nee chan! Don't be so mean! He had to be cheating!" Kiba shouted from off screen.

"He didn't cheat, Kiba, you were too busy staring at his bishoujo's breasts to notice she was fire blasting you in the face." Violet shot back, before shaking her head and smiling at me, "Lia beat him though. I wanted to see how things were going since…well, you know…"

"It's ok. After I hung up with you the Bishi World Safety Department and the local authorities showed up. Iruka and his son were both staying with me, but Iruka, the older one…geeez, I didn't have much time to realize how confusing it was to have two of the same bishounen! Anyway, Iruka san left, took his bishi ball with him, so that he could track down the killers, and left his son with us. And I caught an Edward Elric bishi!" I summed up, turning the screen to showcase the three bishounen walking in front of me. Iruka waved up at the dex with a muted smile, Kakashi flashed the peace sign without turning around, and Edward just nodded.

"Oh wow! Congrats on Edward…but…um, are you sure, about older Iruka? Can you trust him?" Violet asked in a hushed tone, trying to keep her voice low enough Iruka wouldn't hear.

"I think I can trust him." I said honestly, waving away her concern.

"Okay Danny. If you trust him, I won't argue…" She said after a pause.

"It's all good Vi! Was that all you wanted to call about? I'm not too talented at walking without watching where I'm going." I joked as Kakashi reached back and steered me around an exposed tree root.

"That's it. Hey, are you gonna be in Zerlek City next week? Lia and I are going to head that way for the tournament."

"Really? Maybe I'll hook up with you guys there. I didn't really have a plan." I admitted.

"Ok! You might stop in at a gym nearby to beat the trainer there, and then the one in Zerlek City, because you need two gym wins to enter." She warned me, pushing Kiba back out of the frame when he leaned in to argue with her some more about the battle.

"Thanks for the info Violet! I'll see you then!" I thanked her, and we disconnected.

"Nee chan? We're going to battle?" Iruka asked curiously.

"Kakashi and Edward might. You'll sit with me so I'm not lonely!" I cheered, scooping him up and swinging him around.

"Why can't I battle?" He pouted, fighting back the smile I could see in his eyes at being picked up.

"Because you're still a Chibi. The people in charge wouldn't let you enter, even if I would." I explained, and he frowned.

"I need to evolve." He decided.

"Iruka, enjoy childhood! Gosh, I wish I was still your age! I miss being a kid!" I exclaimed, stopping in my tracks and setting him down.

"But…"

"But nothing," I interrupted him, "You'll evolve soon enough, just enjoy life! That's your mission, got it?"

He nodded, crossing his arms and marching off to catch up with Kakashi.

"Oi vey…" I muttered, and fell into stride with Ed.

"Don't worry," He offered, "My folks said I was the same way when I was a Chibi. He'll forget all about it soon enough, and won't care to evolve so quickly."

"It's not that simple," I sighed, and explained to him the events that had led to his joining our group.

"Bastards…" Ed growled after I finished, "How the hell could they do that?"

"I don't know Ed san, but that's where his father is, he's off looking for them. Just… don't mention it to Iruka, ok? I want him to have a good childhood, whatever's left of it."

"Don't worry, Nee san. I think he's in good hands with you." Ed smiled, and I couldn't help but melt a little inside.

"Thanks Ed!" I grinned, and looked forward to the horizon. "Let's get a move on, we want to be in the next city by tomorrow night!"

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A.N.

Yay, another chapter down! 13 Chapters! This one took forever to write… Ed didn't want to behave with Kakashi and Danny, and my computer overheated and shut down without autosaving the chapter, so I had to rewrite it all over again! XD;;; The next chapter won't take nearly as long. Please let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!

Once again, if you'd like to be a trainer, please send me an email at sontsunami 06 aol .com without all the spaces, and let me know the name, appearance, age, how long in the bishi world, what bishis and how they interact. Please don't leave that info in a review, as the last time I wrote a story that let people create their own characters, it was removed because reviews aren't supposed to be used like that I guess.

Ja ne,

Tsunami