Disclaimer - I own neither Bleach nor Fullmetal Alchemist.

Chapter Thirty-One - Motives Revealed

"If this fight is anything like our last one then I'm not concerned," Tomori stated calmly, his gaze shifting around the group that had accompanied Ed. This was a bit concerning to him but the Shinigami did an impressive job of hiding this fact. "Of course you brought all your friends along so you may just be able to beat me…" The man allowed his voice to trail off at this point, waiting for Ed to take the bait.

Which of course the blond boy did.

"They aren't going to interfere," Ed growled as he held up his blade. His golden eyed gaze briefly surveyed the blood soaked ground before returning to the face of the man that he absolutely loathed. He had always disliked the man but hatred had never really entered into the equation until now. "This fight is between you and me… and you're going to pay for what you've done here."

Hitsugaya gazed at the group of Shinigami who seemed to be responsible for the destruction of this town, a thoughtful expression in his teal eyes. There was something about this situation that struck him as incredibly odd; he recognized the group of Shinigami, they were all from Squad Five, and it didn't seem likely that they were behind the incidents that he and the others had been investigating. Tomori was a show off so if he knew something like alchemy, something that very few Shinigami possessed knowledge of, would he really have been able to keep it a secret?

Seemed highly unlikely as far as the young captain was concerned.

Hitsugaya's thoughts shifted back to the battle as he heard the sound of steel clashing together. Both Ed and Tomori had their blades out, each now attempting to throw the other off balance. The white haired prodigy had to admit that Ed's battle skills were much improved and, instead of the anger that he normally showed his eyes contained a calm determination. Yes he was still angry over the situation but he wasn't letting it get the better of him.

He was learning.

Unfortunately with the form that Ed's zanpaktou had taken it was more difficult for him to use it in combat, since he had to be in close quarters with his combatant in order to even hope to land a blow. "Glorified butcher knife," the blond muttered as he dodged an attack from Tomori's longer blade. It only took a couple of moments for Ed to decide that this simply wasn't going to cut it. Leaping back away from his opponent Ed tossed the blade up into the air, clasped his hands together, and called out, "Shine the light of truth upon my enemies, Hikari no Shinjitsu!"

The blade was enveloped with light, as it had been on every occasion that he had used his Shikai, but this time was different. Blue sparks swirled around along with the light, circling Ed's arm as he caught the staff that was his zanpaktou's unsealed form.

"That's new," Ed muttered as he caught the staff, twirling it in front of him a couple of times before rushing forward. Tomori was forced to step back as Ed resumed the offensive, his new staff making him much more of a match for the rogue Shinigami. "You're going to regret not taking me seriously," the blond growled as he swung upward with the staff, striking his opponent and knocking him backward.

It was at this point that the other four Shinigami decided that they would join the battle since their leader seemed to have lost his advantage. Drawing their swords they all rushed forward… only to be drawn to a halt as they were circled by a dragon of ice. Their gazes simultaneously shifted to Captain Hitsugaya, who glared at them through narrowed teal eyes. "Don't," he warned, a huge amount of warning packed into that single word.

They immediately lowered their blades and the others from Hitsugaya's group chose this moment to relieve them of their zanpaktou. They didn't want to take the risk that the rogue Shinigami would decide that they actually wanted to fight and taking their weapons was a good way to prevent this.

"Take them back to the Seireitei," Hitsugaya ordered, his gaze still focused on the battle that was raging. He intended to remain behind because he still had a bad feeling about this entire incident but someone needed to take the group of rogue Shinigami back to the Seireitei. Which he was going to trust his second in command to do. "They'll be dealt with later…"

"Yes captain," Matsumoto said, inclining her head to her superior. She, Mustang, Hughes and Hawkeye each seized one of them by the arms, giving Izumi the swords to carry. Once they were all in custody the Squad Ten vice-captain turned her attention back to Hitsugaya. There was a slightly concerned look in her blue eyes despite the fact that she opted not to protest about the fact that he was ordering most of the group back to the Seireitei. She would follow the orders that were given to her but there was something that she needed to know first. "Are you going to be alright?" she questioned.

Hitsugaya nodded. "If we haven't returned to the Seireitei once you have those guys locked up then come back…"

"Yes sir," Matsumoto said.

Within a matter of moments the only ones remaining in the Rukongai were Ed, Tomori, Hitsugaya and Al. And this fact seemed to delight Tomori, despite the fact that he was now outnumbered three to one. Jumping back, putting some distance between himself and Ed, he began laughing like a maniac.

"That was so much easier than I thought it would be," he said, grinning like a hyena and laughing hysterically.

Holding his staff out in front of him Ed gazed at the man, thinking to himself that the rogue Shinigami had finally completely fallen over the edge. "Um… what is your deal?"

"I was just supposed to get you and the white haired guy alone," Tomori said between his laughter. His gaze shifted over to Al, the extra part to the equation but the look on his face made it obvious that he didn't deem the Squad Four member much of a threat. "That was my mission but I never expected for you to make it so easy for me. Thought I'd have to work at it a little more but whatever. Granted there is an extra but he's just a Squad Four lackey."

"Hey!" Al exclaimed indignantly.

Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed; he'd suspected something like this when he had learned that Tomori was responsible for the destruction of this district. "Why were you supposed to get us alone?" the white haired captain demanded.

"Because I told him to pipsqueak…"

Ed's golden eyes widened as he whirled around, looking for the source of the voice. This one he recognized immediately although he wasn't entirely sure how it was possible. "Can't be…"

A/N - End of another chapter, hope that you enjoyed.