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Chapter Twenty-Two - Fullmetal vs. Flame: Round Two

"This I've got to see," Hughes commented as he watched Ed and Mustang walking toward the Squad Ten practice grounds. The blond Shinigami had been ordered to teach Mustang how to control the reiatsu that he possessed and Hughes saw this as an opportunity for some entertainment.

As well as an opportunity for Ed to get a little revenge against Mustang for his years in the State Military.

"It's going to be a disaster," Al said as he too fell into step behind his brother and the colonel. He well remembered the last time that the two of them had fought and the resulting damage had been tremendous.

For her part Hawkeye remained silent as she made her way toward the practice grounds. She was well aware of the grudge between Mustang and Ed and was of the opinion that Al was correct.

It was going to be a disaster.

"Alright," Captain Hitsugaya said, appearing out of nowhere and shocking everyone. "Remember that you're training and not actually fighting."

Both Mustang and Ed's gaze swept over to Hughes, as though accusing him of telling the white haired prodigy about their past. Hughes shrugged, not bothering to deny the unspoken accusation.

After all, it was bad to lie.

"And you're going to have to fix anything that you happen to break," Hitsugaya said, his narrow eyed gaze focused on the two who would be going first.

"Right," Ed said, waving his hand dismissively. Personally he was of the mind that it would be worth having to clean up a mess to wipe that smug expression from Mustang's face.

Not that he would voice this out loud however. He wanted to be able to plead innocent later and that would be ruined if he spoke of his plans.

"I know what you're thinking Nii-san," Al called out as he, Hawkeye, Hughes, and Hitsugaya took up positions along the perimeter of the training grounds. "And it's not a good idea."

"I don't know what you're talking about Al," Ed called out as he and Mustang made their way to the center of the training grounds. Now Ed well remembered what had occurred the last time that he had fought against Mustang but this time he had a distinct advantage.

The fact that he could use both reiatsu and alchemy and, in this world, Mustang couldn't use either. The Flame Alchemist was virtually powerless.

"This isn't going to turn out well," Al muttered, shaking his head as he watched what could only be described as an evil grin spread across his brother's face.

"They're determined to fight aren't they?" Hitsugaya asked, turning his attention to Hughes.

Hughes nodded, confirming the suspicions of his captain. "As I told you they have a bit of a history and it doesn't look as though either of them are willing to just let it go."

With a sigh Hitsugaya used his flash-step and appeared beside the two men who were standing out on the battlefield. Both Ed and Mustang were surprised by his sudden appearance and turned questioning eyes in his direction.

"You," he said, pointing toward Mustang. "Since I don't want any casualties in this, and since I can't trust Elric, I'm going to show you how to use a few basic kidou moves. What the two of you decide to do after that is completely up to you."

"I can't believe you don't trust me," Ed said as he watched Hitsugaya and Mustang walking away from him.

"I can't believe you think that I would," Hitsugaya threw back over his shoulder. Honestly, what reason had the blond Shinigami ever given to make him think that he was trustworthy?

"That was uncalled for," Ed muttered. "And teaching him a few kidou moves won't change the outcome of this fight."

"When exactly did a training session turn into a battle?" Al muttered, hearing the words that his brother was shouting to Captain Hitsugaya.

"Did you honestly expect anything different from those two?" Hughes asked, his gaze focused on the spot where his friend was standing with the white haired captain. He had picked up on the reiatsu signal that Mustang gave off and was fairly certain that his friend had the potential to be powerful.

The only uncertainty in the equation was how quickly he could pick up the techniques.

Hitsugaya ran through the basics of kidou with Mustang, as well as a few of the spirit chants for the low level kidou spells, but it soon became apparent that the black haired man's attention was elsewhere. With a sigh he decided that the man would just have to learn things the hard way.

Perhaps he would learn faster if he were pushed in a battle, as had been the case with Ed. Then again this could result in grave bodily injury.

But one look at the smug man was enough to convince Hitsugaya that he didn't really care, one way or the other. If they were determined to beat each other's brains out then who was he to stop them?

"You may continue," he said, walking away without so much as another word.

"Careful Mustang," Ed said as he watched the Squad Ten Captain rejoin the others at the edge of the training grounds. "You're already on his bad side and that's not a good place to be."

"And why is that?" Mustang asked as he returned to his spot across from Ed. He was more than ready to get this fight underway.

"Because he'll freeze your ass in a split second," Ed replied, also eager to begin the battle. "And won't even bat an eye."

"Sounds like you're speaking from experience Fullmetal," Mustang said, that obnoxious smirk still plastered on his face.

"Not exactly," Ed muttered, making the decision not to draw his zanpaktou during this fight. That would make it way too unfair and, although the temptation was there, Ed could resist.

It wouldn't make that much of a difference to the outcome of this fight anyway. Even without the use of his sword Mustang didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell.

And knowing that was the greatest feeling in the world.

Deciding that it would be in his best interest to make the first move Mustang leapt into the air and began to shout the first spirit chant that came to mind.

Hughes smirked as he listened to the words that Mustang was saying. "Well that's oddly appropriate."

"What is?" Hawkeye asked, her gaze locked on the battle field.

That question was answered as Mustang exclaimed, "Red Flame Cannon!"

The group assembled around the battleground watched intently as a small ball of energy erupted from Mustang's hands. Unfortunately it was only half formed and fell to the ground a few feet away from Mustang.

"Well," Hughes said, shaking his head. "That really wasn't bad for a first attempt. At least he didn't blow himself up."

"Does that happen often?" Hawkeye asked, her eyes wide as her gaze briefly shifted to Hughes.

"More than you'd think," Hughes said, recalling his first attempt at Red Flame Cannon. It had not been pretty and he'd spent the next couple of hours in the infirmary.

"That was pitiful," Ed said with a laugh, holding his own hands out in front of him. He had allowed Mustang to make the first move, to make sure that he would actually be able to use kidou, but now it was time to show the man exactly how it was done. "Pale Fire Crash!"

Mustang's eyes widened as a streak of blue lightening flew toward him and he quickly threw himself out of the way. He landed on the ground with an audible thud and quickly turned his head aside, to avoid the flying debris from the attack.

And despite himself he was impressed.

Fullmetal had definitely grown more powerful since the last time that he'd seen the boy. Of course, Mustang would never admit to this fact out loud but that didn't make it any less true.

"You should keep your focus in a battle."

Glancing up at the sound of these words Mustang saw that the blond boy was in the air, once again holding out his hands. Knowing what was coming Mustang quickly spit out the spirit chant as fast as he could, firing Red Flame Cannon without a second to spare.

The red ball of energy flew through the air, colliding with the blue lightening bolt that Fullmetal had launched toward him. For a brief moment the two powers struggled against one another before they both exploded in a huge flash of light.

"Okay," Hitsugaya said, deciding to once again intervene before someone really did end up seriously injured. The fire that was snapping in both the combatants' eyes was signaling trouble and, after all, this little vendetta of theirs wasn't the reason that they were out here.

Using his flash-step the young captain once again appeared in the center of the battlefield, this time appearing between the two fighters. "Enough."

"That's not a very smart move shrimp," Mustang said, his arms held out in preparation for another attack. "You could get yourself seriously hurt appearing like that."

In response to this Hitsugaya leapt into the air, at the same time drawing the sword that he wore secured across his back. "Reign over the frosted, frozen sky, Hyourinmaru!"

A huge dragon comprised of ice and water erupted from the tip of the sword and circled around the white haired captain. Landing lightly on the ground Hitsugaya directed the dragon toward a target that had been set up at the far end of the training grounds. The target froze and shattered the instant the dragon collided with it.

Sheathing his sword in one fluid motion Hitsugaya turned back to Mustang. "You were saying?"

"Absolutely nothing," Mustang said, in awe of the power wielded by this kid who was even shorter than Fullmetal. Exactly what were these Shinigami?

"That's a good look for you," Ed said, a smirk appearing on his face. "And I warned you not to get on his bad side. Just be glad that you didn't have to fight him."

"Moving on," Hitsugaya said. "We still have training to do."

"Right," Ed said. Though he still had a grudge against Mustang, one that he wasn't likely to forget anytime soon, he fully realized that there were more important things to focus on right now. Like getting stronger so that when they found the person responsible for combining Hollow through alchemy they would actually stand a chance against them. For that reason he could put his grudge aside for now.

But only temporarily.

A/N - Hope that you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review and tell me what you thought. And I promise that we'll get back to the actual plot soon.