Disclaimer - I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Bleach

Chapter Eighteen - Searching and Planning

"So Edward," Izumi began in a seemingly calm voice as she and her two former students left the Seireitei and made their way out to the Rukongai, where they had been charged with finding anyone who could identify the people on their suspect list.

Or better yet, finding someone who was actually ON the suspect list.

That would be most helpful.

"What is it Teacher?" Ed asked, turning a questioning gaze to the woman who had helped both him and his brother refine their alchemical skills. Her training had been beyond rough but the woman still held a very special place in his heart.

"Tell me how exactly you and Alphonse ended up dead."

"....."

Ed drew up short and it was obvious, by the look on his face, that he didn't really want to answer that question. However it was also obvious, from the look that Izumi was giving him, that she wasn't about to drop the issue. Knowing that he was beat and resigned to his fate Edward took a deep breath. "It was an automobile accident."

"And you were driving?"

"Yes," Ed replied, mistaking her calm voice for one of understanding.

"What... The... HELL.... were you thinking?!" Ed's face paled as he heard these words escape her lips and he made a move to run for his life... okay for his after life, but Izumi was just as quick as he remembered from his days of training with her. She seized the boy by the wrist and effortlessly flipped him onto his back. Hitting the ground hard Ed gasped as the breath was knocked out of him.

"Nii-san!" Al exclaimed, running over and kneeling at his brother's side.

Not willing to allow Al to escape the punishment that she had planned Izumi seized the younger boy, who was soon lying on the ground beside his brother. "You should have known better than to let him drive!"

"We're sorry Teacher!" the two boys said in one voice. In all honesty Ed knew that he really should have expected something like that from his teacher but he had been too preoccupied by thoughts of the Hollow chimera. And obviously his teacher had been as well or else the confrontation wouldn't have taken so long.

"Get on your feet," Izumi ordered, gazing down at the two boys. "We have a job to do."

"Yes ma'am," the two boys said, jumping to their feet.

"Let's go."

"Right."

All thought of Izumi's outburst seemed to be forgotten as they made their way through District One of the Rukongai. They knew that the search was going to be difficult, since the Rukongai had Eighty Districts, which was why they had enlisted the help of Hughes.

He was still on guard duty but would resume the search as soon as his shift ended. Ed, Al and Izumi all planned to split up once they had thoroughly searched District One but even then there were only four of them. The search would be long and extremely time consuming.

And, unfortunately, time was the one thing that they didn't really have.

"You boys had best be careful," Izumi warned as she prepared to part ways with her rather wayward students. She glared at each boy in turn, hoping to impress upon them the severity of the situation. Both boys nodded, not wanting to relive their earlier experience, and the group went their separate ways.

"This is going to take forever," Ed complained, one hand instinctively resting upon the hilt of his zanpaktou.

He had been less than enthusiastic about the suggestion of splitting up but the rational part of his brain knew that they really couldn't afford to go about it any other way. They had to conduct the search as quickly as possible and with their small numbers that meant that they had to divide up and go their separate ways.

"This wouldn't be happening if I had just learned to drive!" Ed screamed out to nobody.

The inhabitants of District Two gazed at the blond haired Shinigami as though he had lost his mind but none of them spoke. It was in their nature to leave Shinigami alone and they weren't about to change that now, especially not when said Shinigami was crazy.

After the trio from Amestris departed to search the Rukongai, Captain Hitsugaya also departed Squad Ten. His destination was the Squad One barracks, needing to speak to Head Captain Ukitake about the current situation. The other captains would have to be made aware and, consequently, their subordinates.

Having fought the strange Hollow first hand Hitsugaya had to admit, although he would never make such an admission out loud, that he was somewhat concerned about the situation. The beast had contained the powers of several Hollow which would pose a problem for the lower ranked Shinigami.

And, if the culprit's experimentation was allowed to continue, it wouldn't be long before the Hollow that they created would pose a problem for the officers as well.

This situation had to be dealt with and the culprit apprehended before something like that came to pass or else it could spell trouble for both Soul Society and the world of the living. Shaking his head Hitsugaya ran a hand through his unruly white hair. And, as if all of this wasn't bad enough, this situation was actually forcing him to request that the blond haired menace be moved temporarily to Squad Ten.

"I can't believe that I'm actually going to make such a request," he muttered to himself as he reached out and knocked on Ukitake's door. That was a sure sign of the severity of the situation.

"Enter."

The young captain slid the office door open and stepped inside. As usual Head Captain Ukitake was seated at his desk, working on a stack of paperwork that was positioned in front of him. Hitsugaya bowed politely and then approached his superior.

"Toushirou," Ukitake said, a questioning gaze appearing in his eyes. It was obvious that he hadn't been expecting a visit from the young captain and was curious as to what had brought him here. "Is there something that I can help you with?"

"Yes," Hitsugaya said as he came to a stop in front of the Head Captain's desk. "Forgive me for the abruptness of this request but we need to have a captain's meeting as soon as possible. I've encountered something very troubling in the Rukongai and I think that the other captains should be made aware of the situation."

It wasn't obvious in the young captain's tone but Ukitake had known Hitsugaya long enough to recognize when the kid was concerned about something. And if whatever he had encountered was bad enough to evoke this level of worry from the young captain then it was enough to ensure that Ukitake took it seriously.

"I'll send out Hell butterflies to all of the captains immediately," he said, getting to his feet. "We should be able to have them all assembled within the hour."

Hitsugaya nodded. "Thank you very much sir."

A/N - It's short and also a filler chapter but I need some in put from the people reading this before I continue on with the story. There is currently a poll on my profile page so if you would all be so kind as to go and take it the story can hopefully continue soon. Thanks for your help and, as always, reviews are greatly appreciated.