Disclaimer - I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Bleach

Chapter Twenty-Three - Training

After the first so called training session between Ed and Mustang, Captain Hitsugaya decided that he would have to supervise things from now on. And the young prodigy also decided that Ed and Mustang wouldn't be training together anymore.

His first thought had been that the two of them would push each other to progress faster but now he knew better. The only thing that those two pushed each other to do was cause complete and utter destruction. Which Squad Four hadn't been happy about since cleaning up the mess had fallen to them. So, in an attempt to keep the peace, Hitsugaya paired Mustang with Hughes and told Ed to work with Hawkeye. And that would leave Al and Izumi to work together since they seemed to be the two who could get along with just about anyone. They were also the two least likely to need supervision, which was a plus. Hopefully those pairings would keep things from getting destroyed.

Or at least that was the thought process behind it. Only time would tell exactly how well it worked out.

Hitsugaya was sitting at his desk, thinking about the damage that could be caused by these training sessions, when he heard a knock on his door. The white haired captain felt a sense of dread descend upon him as his gaze shifted to the door and he briefly debated pretending not to be in the office.

Ultimately the young captain decided against this course of action and, with a sigh, called out, "Enter."

The door slid open and Hughes entered the office. Hitsugaya could hear other people speaking out in the hallway however his subordinate closed the door before any of the others could enter the office. The muffled sounds of complaints issued forth from the other side of the door but Hitsugaya couldn't hear what was being said and the young captain found that he liked it that way.

"I knew I liked him," Hitsugaya thought to himself as he watched the man walk across the office toward him.

"Captain," Hughes said as he came to a stop in front of his superior's desk. "I came to tell you that we're all going out to the training grounds since you wanted to know when we began our training."

"Thank you," Hitsugaya said, getting to his feet and grabbing Hyourinmaru. Securing the sword across his back the white haired captain came to stand beside his subordinate. "Let's get this over with."

"Right," Hughes said, a smile spreading across his face. He knew exactly why Hitsugaya wasn't looking forward to this training session since he knew exactly what Roy and Ed were like.

But hopefully things would go better this time around since the two alchemists would be kept separated.

Hughes and Hitsugaya left the office and joined the group who were assembled out in the hallway. Ed and Mustang were both scowling but everyone else seemed to be in a fairly good mood.

For the moment.

"It's going to be a long day," Hitsugaya thought to himself as the group proceeded to make their way out to the Squad Ten training grounds.

He could already feel the beginnings of a headache forming and the white haired youth absently rubbed at his temples with the tips of his fingers.

It didn't take very long for the group to arrive at the Squad Ten training grounds and, the moment the arrived, Hitsugaya placed a kidou barrier around the area. The last thing he needed was for the inhabitants of Soul Society to feel the reiatsu of his strange group and come to check things out.

That was a spectacle that he wanted to avoid at all costs.

After all the group of six that currently stood before him were more than enough to keep Hitsugaya occupied. And he was loathe to add any more to the mix.

"Alright," the young captain said, eying the group in warning. "Split up into your assigned pairs and pick a corner of the training grounds. And I warn you now, whatever you break you're responsible for fixing."

"It doesn't sound like he trusts us," Hughes said with a chuckle.

"It's not us," Al said, his gaze shifting back and forth between Ed and Mustang, who were glaring daggers at one another. "It's Nii-san and the colonel that he doesn't trust."

"That's right," Hawkeye said. "It's just guilt by association for the rest of us."

"That's correct," Hitsugaya said as he prepared to oversee the three training sessions that were about to begin. "And try to keep in mind that there is a dangerous enemy out there. We are training for a reason."

"Right," the group said as they split into their assigned pairs. Each group made their way to a different location, making sure to be a safe distance away from the other two groups, and began their training.

With his zanpaktou in hand Hitsugaya walked around the training area, keeping a watchful eye on each of the groups. They were training to defeat a tough enemy and he wanted to make certain that everyone learned as quickly as possible.

As well as make sure that none of them ended up needing a trip to the Squad Four barracks.

"Alright Roy," Hughes said, grateful for the first time that he was better at kidou than the use of his zanpaktou. "We'll begin with Red Flame Cannon because you've already managed to pull that one off. And because it suits your personality so well."

"Alright Maes," Mustang said, attempting to recall the spirit chant required for the use of Red Flame Cannon.

Holding out his hands Mustang called out the spirit chant and then watched as a red ball of energy erupted from his palms. This attempt was better than his last and Mustang watched as the kidou blast sailed toward the target.

And then sailed completely over it.

Mustang cringed as the burst of reiatsu collided with the invisible barrier that Hitsugaya had erected to conceal them from prying eyes.

"Don't worry about it Roy," Hughes said with a chuckle. "I actually know full fledged Shinigami who can't pull it off so your attempt really wasn't that bad."

"Hmm," Mustang said, his expression thoughtful.

Glad that he had chosen Hughes to teach the black haired annoyance Hitsugaya moved on to the next group, which consisted of Ed and Hawkeye. The golden haired Shinigami was explaining the concept of kidou to Hawkeye, who was gazing at him attentively.

"Alright," Ed said once he'd explained the concept of kidou and it's usage. "So are you ready to give it a try?"

Hawkeye nodded, prepared to give this one hundred percent of her effort to learning this kidou.

"Okay," Ed said, glad that he wasn't being forced to work with that flaming fool again. Hawkeye was much easier to deal with. "I have the perfect kidou for you. It's called Purifying Bullets."

Hitsugaya nodded as he heard the kidou that Elric intended to teach the woman named Hawkeye. This particular kidou shot bursts of reiatsu in all directions.

Continuing on his way the white haired captain made his way over to the spot where Al and Izumi were working together. And it only took one look at them to know that he didn't need to interfere.

"This may work out after all," Hitsugaya muttered to himself as he made his way over to the edge of the training grounds so that he could watch all three groups.

At least that was his thought until a kidou burst came directly toward him. Shaking his head the young captain held out his hand and effortlessly blocked the runaway kidou burst.

"Sorry about that short stack!" Mustang called out.

Hitsugaya had to resist the urge to use Hyourinmaru to freeze the man and settled for sending a glaring look his way.

"You'd better watch out Roy," Hughes said good naturedly the moment he saw the look that his captain was giving his best friend.

"Right," Mustang said although he didn't really think that the little guy could possible pose much of a threat. Not that he would say anything of course.

A/N - this chapter is kind of short but that's okay. I got a great mental image thinking about the group training together. Hope that you enjoyed!