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Chapter Twelve - Alchemy Reborn

Clasping his hands together for what seemed like the one millionth time since their arrival in the Soul Society Ed barely touched a pile of sticks with the tips of his outstretched hands and his eyes widened as the branches were surrounded by familiar blue sparks and then reassembled themselves to form a small wooden figure of a samurai, complete with armor and katana.

"Nii-san!" Al exclaimed, his eyes wide in disbelief. "Alchemy! You did it!"

"Looks like," Ed said as he fought to catch his breath. It was strange. Even that little bit of alchemy had completely drained him of all of his energy and it was all that he could do to remain in his kneeling position. His body felt so weak that all he wanted to do was fall over.

"Ed?" Al said as he noticed his brother's weakened condition. "Are you okay?"

Ed nodded but even as he did so he fell backwards and landed on his backside. The boy winced however made no attempt to move from this new position. He was simply too weak and now all he wanted to do was lay down and sleep. "It's weird," he muttered, confused by how drained he felt after the transmutation. "Alchemy never took this much out of me before."

"Maybe it has something to do with the different make-up of this world," Al said as he unsheathed his zanpaktou and held the blade over his brother's head. "It takes more work to use the alchemy here in Soul Society so therefore it takes more out of you. It's only natural if you really think about it."

"Hmm," Ed said thoughtfully.

Swinging the blade of his zanpaktou Al called out, "Turn back time, Sunadokei."

Once again the blade of his brother's sword was engulfed by the strange golden glow and the young Shinigami immediately felt his strength returning. Getting to his feet he brushed the dirt from his hakama before turning to Al, a grateful smile on his face. "Thanks Al. Your powers are awesome and they really come in handy."

"Glad that I can be of assistance Nii-san," Al said, beaming. At first he wasn't one hundred percent certain about how he felt about the power of his zanpaktou however now he was grateful for it. It was proving useful to his brother and that made him happy.

"Alright," Ed said, turning serious in the flash of an eye and getting back to business. Tossing the small wooden samurai aside the young man gathered together a pile of rocks of various sizes and put them in a pile in the center of the clearing.

"Are you going to try again Ed?" Al asked as he watched his brother gathering rocks.

Ed nodded as he placed the final rock on the pile. "That last time was the first success that we've had and I want to make sure that it wasn't just a fluke."

Al nodded. He understood his brother's desire to make sure that his use of alchemy wasn't a one time thing however he couldn't keep the concern from his gray eyes. The last time had taken so much of Ed's energy and it had been an incredibly simple transmutation. What would this next attempt bring?

Ed couldn't fail to notice the concern in his brother's eyes and he offered Al a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Al, I'll be fine. With your healing abilities what could go wrong?"

Al didn't answer, not that his brother was really expecting him to. Ed was too caught up in the alchemy to notice the uncertain look in his brother's gray eyes. Al knew that the powers of his zanpaktou used up his own energy however he wasn't about to let his brother in on this little secret. Ed would worry and that was the last thing that Al wanted.

Like Ed he wanted to be able to use alchemy again in this world and he was willing to go to whatever lengths were necessary.

Clasping his hands together once more Ed placed the tips of his fingers on top of the pile of rocks and watched as they were engulfed by familiar blue sparks. He couldn't keep a smile from forming on his face as he realized that it was working. The spirit particles that made up the rocks were reforming and coming together to make something different.

Amidst a puff of smoke a statue of Ed dressed as a Shinigami appeared where the rocks had been mere seconds before.

"Yes!" Ed exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air in triumph.

Alchemy was reborn!

The celebration was short lived however and, completely drained by his exertion, Ed crumpled to the ground once more. Al watched as his brother collapsed in a heap on the ground and with a sigh he once again raised his zanpaktou, which he hadn't sheathed after his last use of it.

"Turn back time, Sunadokei!"

Ed's limp form was surrounded by the same golden aura that surrounded Al's blade and he immediately began to stir. Feeling his energy coming back to him Ed rose to a sitting position and gazed over at his brother, an excited expression in his golden eyes.

"You did it Nii-san," Al said as he sheathed his zanpaktou, hoping that his brother was finished with alchemy for the time being. He was completely exhausted and didn't know how many more times he could heal his brother before it began to take a toll on his own health.

"No," Ed said as he grabbed his brother by the arm and pulled him to the ground. The older Elric wrapped his arm around his brother once Al was on the ground beside him. "We did it Al."

Al smiled, pleased by his brother's words.

The moment was broken however as Ed gazed at the horizon and realized how late it had gotten. He hadn't realized how much time he and his brother had spent in the clearing out in the Rukongai and a sweat drop appeared on the side of his forehead.

"Shit!"

"What is it Nii-san?" Al was concerned and he gazed at his brother, a questioning expression on his face.

"I have sparring practice," Ed said by way of explanation, jumping to his feet. "And I'm pretty sure that I'm late. Sorry Al, I'll have to talk to you later."

And with those parting words the golden haired Shinigami dashed off.

A smile appeared on his face as Al gathered up the wooden samurai and the stone statue of his brother. Ed had a one track mind when it came to research and the younger Elric was in no way surprised by the fact that his brother had forgotten about practice.

"Some things will never change,"he thought as he too made his way back to the Seireitei. Unlike his brother Al wasn't late for anything so he was able to take his time returning to Squad Four and he walked at a leisurely pace, thinking about alchemy as he walked. It was true that he hadn't attempted to use alchemy however his brother had proven that it was indeed possible in this world.

To the Elric brothers this was a major discovery.

"Sorry I'm late," Ed gasped as he arrived at the Squad Five training grounds. The rest of the squad members were all assembled there and they turned to gaze at their newest addition as he raced toward them, his hand gripping the hilt of his zanpaktou. Most of the others offered Ed smiles of encouragement as he joined their ranks however one of them held only contempt for the boy.

"I don't know why you even bothered to show up at all," the third seat officer of Squad Five said, a sneer on his face as his gaze focused on the young man. "It's not like you stand a chance against any of us so why bother with it?"

"Tomori you jerk," fourth seat Kaiya Maekawa snapped, glaring at the man who was technically her superior with a look of utmost loathing. "The point of this training session is to train and get better. And he's skilled enough to make fifth seat right after graduation so you shouldn't say things like that."

Ed was grateful to Kaiya for standing up to him but he also knew that his swordsmanship did leave something to be desired. He was capable of Shikai however his zanpaktou was stubborn and only cooperated with him about fifty percent of the time. There was definitely room for improvement and he knew it. But that knowledge didn't make Tomori's words any easier to take. The man had no interest what so ever in helping him to improve his skills he merely wanted to rub in the fact that at the moment he was a better swordsman. He just wanted to be a jerk.

Ed's grip tightened around the hilt of his zanpaktou as he glared at the arrogant third seat officer. Tomori had done nothing but pick fights with him since he'd joined the ranks of Squad Five and Ed was over it. In this moment he vowed that one day he would wipe the smirk from this man's face, even if it was the last thing that he ever did.

Beating Tomori had just replaced beating Hitsugaya on his list of priorities, which was truly saying something.

"Alright everyone." Ed's thoughts were forced away from his desire to beat Tomori by the arrival of Captain Kurosaki. Their orange haired leader had a smirk on his face, as always. "Let's get to work."

"Yes sir!" the group chorused.

Ed focused completely on the training however he was once again paired with Tomori and to his utter dismay he once again lost the fight. The loss was bad however the smug look on Tomori's face was infinitely worse and the young Shinigami clenched his hands into fists, resisting the urge to use his new reacquired alchemy skills to wipe that smug expression from the man's face.

"No," he thought to himself, determination glowing in his golden eyes. "I won't do that. I refuse to alchemy in this fight. I will beat him with my zanpaktou, even if it's the last thing that I do."

"Good work everyone," Ichigo said, once again addressing his subordinates. "Everyone has improved since last time. Keep up the good work. Dismissed."

And with those words the group disbursed. Still irritated by his loss to Tomori Ed left the Squad Five complex and made his way to the Squad Four barracks. He needed something to keep his mind off the fact that he wanted to kill one of his superiors and his brother had always been good at calming him down.

"Hello Edward," Squad Four Vice-captain Isane Kotetsu called out cheerfully as Ed entered the courtyard.

"Hello Vice-captain Kotetsu," Ed said, offering the kind woman a smile. "Is my brother around here anywhere?"

Isane nodded and stuck her head back inside the door. "Alphonse!" she called out. "You have a visitor."

A couple of minutes passed and then Al appeared in the doorway. His gray eyes lit up as he saw his brother standing in the courtyard and he cast a questioning glance toward the vice-captain of his squad.

Knowing the question before the boy even asked Isane nodded. "Go ahead Alphonse."

"Thanks," Al called out over his shoulder as he ran to catch up to his brother. Together the Elric siblings made their way to a secluded part of the Squad Four courtyard and, once they were out of earshot of everyone, Al turned to his brother. "What's up Ed? You look agitated."

"It's that bastard Tomori," Ed muttered, his hands once again clenching into fists. "I swear one of these days I'm going to get even with him."

"Did something happen in training?"

"The man is a jerk," Ed growled, practically spitting out the words. "And the fact that I keep losing to him is really beginning to piss me off. I need to get better with my zanpaktou so I can wipe that smug look off his face once and for all."

Shaking his head Al marveled at how familiar this vow sounded. "Ed, I thought that you were taking sword fighting lessons from Captain Hitsugaya? What happened?"

A sweat drop appeared on the side of Ed's head. "I quit after only two lessons. I told that smug little brat that I'd rather die than take lessons from him. And then I left and I haven't seen him since."

"Edward." Al's voice was reproachful as he gazed at his older brother.

"I know," Ed muttered, actually wishing that he had kept up the lessons. Compared to Hitsugaya Tomori was nothing and yet Ed still couldn't manage to beat him. Maybe he should go and ask the Squad Ten Captain to resume their lessons.

He hated the thought however he hated the thought of Tomori beating him again even more. Sighing he made his decision. "Fine," he thought to himself, irritated by the very thought of asking that brat for anything. But the truth could not be denied. When fighting with Captain Hitsugaya he learned faster and his skills improved more than during any other training. As much as he hated to admit it, the fact was that he needed the boy's help. "I'll ask for his help. But that doesn't mean that I have to like it."

A/N - and there's the end of chapter twelve, hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review and tell me what you thought. Til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.