Disclaimer- I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or Bleach. Just borrowing the characters for my own amusement.

A/N- Okay, so I was working on my fic Reincarnation when my muses decided that this would be a good idea. The muses would NOT be denied so I wrote this first chapter just to get the idea out of my head. Updates may be few and far between however I do have every intention of finishing it.

Chapter One - Soul Society

It was a stupid way to die, in Edward Elric's opinion. He'd survived wars in both Amestris and the strange world on the other side of the gate, as well as battled with homunculi, only to end up dead in an automobile accident. That had to be the very height of absurdity. His childhood friend Winry had always warned him that he was horrible with machinery and should just leave it alone however he'd thought that driving a car couldn't possibly be that difficult.

Of course he'd been wrong.

Now he was in a strange place and had no idea how he'd gotten there. The last thing he remembered was smashing into the tree and he was one hundred percent certain that the accident had killed him. After all he had died once before and therefore he knew exactly what it felt like. Plus there was the strange fact that his missing limbs, the ones that he had lost due to his failed human alchemy, had mysteriously returned.

"How the hell did I get here?" the boy raged, gazing around his surroundings in confusion. He'd merely woken up in this clearing surrounded by trees and had no idea how he'd came to be there. "And for that matter, where the hell is 'here' anyway?"

Ed walked around in a small circle, his thoughts bouncing back and forth from one possibility to the next. Unfortunately each scenario that played out in his mind was more unlikely than the previous. "This doesn't make any SENSE!"

Ed was angry however his pacing was brought up short as he suddenly recalled the passenger in the car that he had totaled. "Al," he gasped as the face of his younger brother appeared in his mind's eye. Al had been with him in the crash and he realized at this moment that he had no idea whether or not his brother had survived. "Alphonse, are you there! Say something. AL!"

"Captain," Vice-captain of Squad Ten Rangiku Matsumoto asked, pausing mid-step and turning her attention to the young, white-haired boy who was walking beside her. "Did you hear that?"

Captain Hitsugaya halted his steps as well and nodded in the direction of his subordinate, his attention, like hers, focused in the direction of the Rukongai. The two officers had been returning to their barracks after a liaison mission to the world of the living however they immediately changed direction after hearing the shouts that were coming from the Rukongai. "Not only did I hear it but I felt it. There was a definite influx of reiatsu accompanying those shouts. We should probably go and check it out."

After everything that had happened with Aizen and the Espada any irregularities in the Rukongai were immediately investigated no matter how minor they may appear. The Shinigami who had managed to escape the Winter War with their lives wanted to take no chances on anything happening to disrupt their newly acquired and much enjoyed peace.

"Yes sir," Matsumoto said with a nod.

"Nii-san," a familiar voice called out, interrupting Ed's frantic shouting.

Ed heaved a sigh of relief as Al stumbled through some underbrush and made his way into the clearing. He'd been afraid that he'd once again lost the person most precious to him and he was relieved beyond measure to learn that was not the case. "Al," he said as his brother came to join him in the center of the clearing. "I thought I'd lost you."

"You almost did," Alphonse Elric said, eying his older brother. "What exactly happened?"

Thinking back to the accident that had apparently claimed both of their lives Ed smiled ruefully. "I zigged when I should have zagged."

"Nii-san," Al said, shaking his head in exasperation.

"What?" Ed demanded, eying his younger brother. "So I made a mistake. Everyone's entitled."

Al shook his head once again but did not comment further.

"So do you have any idea exactly where we are?" Ed asked his younger brother as the two siblings made their way through the forest.

Al shrugged. "How should I know? The after life or something?" The younger boy shrugged again.

Ed snorted. "Some after life."

"You know Nii-san," Al said. "If you don't want my opinion then don't ask for it."

Ed realized by the tone of his brother's voice, as well as the harshness of the words, that he'd upset Al and he immediately felt guilty over that fact. "I'm sorry Al. It's just that I'm a little stressed but that's no excuse for taking it out on you."

The younger boy instantly reverted back to his usual, cheery self. "That's okay Ed. You were just being you."

"Gee thanks," Ed muttered.

"You're welcome," Al said, offering his brother an innocent smile.

"Well," Ed said with a sigh, chosing to ignore the obnoxious smile that his brother was wearing. "I guess we should look around and see if we can find any signs of civilization."

Al nodded and the two brothers left the clearing.

"Stranded in the middle of the woods," Ed muttered as he and Al made their way down a barely visible path, growing increasingly more agitated with each minute that passed. "Lost and going on some stupid nature hike. I can think of much better ways to spend an afternoon. GRRRR!"

As Ed raged a blue aura began to grow around him and this sight caused the boy to pause, confusion evident in his golden eyes. "What the hell? This isn't alchemy so what exactly. . ."

"Well there's the answer to our question Captain," a feminine voice called out from a short distance away. Ed's gaze shifted toward the sound of the voice and his gaze fell upon two strange people approaching the spot where he and his brother stood. "That little guy over there is the one making all the noise." The woman paused at this point, her gaze focused on the aura that was beginning to dissipate but still visible, and then said, "And he seems to be the source of the reiatsu that we felt as well."

"Oh no," Al thought to himself, recognizing trouble when he heard it. The woman who had just appeared on the scene had said the one word guaranteed to make Ed angry and Al prepared for the explosion.

"LITTLE!" Ed screamed, only managing to fully grasp one portion of her statement. Focusing a narrow eyed gaze on the woman the boy clenched his hands in anger. "Who are you calling a runt so. . ."

"Shut up," a new voice barked out in a commanding tone, interrupting Ed's rant.

Ed's gaze shifted away from the woman and fell upon the angry looking young boy who was standing beside her, the tip of his spiked white hair barely coming to her ample chest. His face broke out into a delighted smile as he took in the boy's appearance for the first time since his arrival. It was too good to be true, this boy was even shorter than he was. Then he recalled what the boy had said and the smile instantly disappeared. "Wait a minute. . . Did you just tell me to shut up?"

"Yes," Hitsugaya said calmly, gazing over at the blonde youth.

"Why you little. . ."

Sensing that a fight was about to break out between the two boys and seeking to avoid that scenario Matsumoto quickly stepped between them. "Alright, calm down." She turned her attention back to the blonde haired boy who appeared to be a few years older than her captain, although she knew that due to Soul Society's abnormal aging system looks meant nothing. "My name is Rangiku Matsumoto and I'm vice-captain of Squad Ten."

"Vice-captain?" Ed vaguely wondered if this woman was a member of a military organization or something but his thoughts quickly shifted to a more pressing matter. "You know lady, you really should teach your kid some manners."

"No tact as usual," Al thought to himself, noticing that the white haired boy looked as though he'd like nothing more than to throttle Ed at this point. "Way to go Nii-san. Not to mention the fact that you're the last person who has any right to comment on bad manners."

Matsumoto was forced to cover her mouth with her hands in order to hide the smile that Ed's comment produced however Hitsugaya was by no means amused. His eyes narrowed and a cold wind began to whirl around the group. "I'm not her kid you idiot. I'm her captain."

"Captain?" Ed repeated, blinking a couple of times in disbelief. "You?"

"Yes," Hitsugaya snapped, his teal eyes still narrowed in anger.

Ed was still confused. "But you look like you're about twelve years old. How can you be captain of anything?"

Hitsugaya clenched his hands into fists however he did not verbally reply to Ed's question. Instead he turned away from the annoying boy and his silent companion and back to his subordinate. "Come on Matsumoto, let's go. We came to find out what was causing all the noise and we did. There's nothing more for us to do here."

"Okay," Matsumoto said, feeling that they should probably find out more about these strange new arrivals to Soul Society but at the same time realizing that her captain was not in the mood for argument. Dealing with the blonde haired trouble maker and his companion would just have to wait until some other time.

"I wonder if I said something that offended him?" Ed thought to himself as he watched the two strangers walk away. After a few moments' thought Ed shrugged. "Oh well. And I still have no idea where the hell I am!" He turned to his brother. "Come on Al."

"We've been here less than a half an hour and he's already angered someone," Al thought to himself as he fell into step behind his older brother. "Why can't he learn to behave himself?"

"That has GOT to be the most obnoxious. . ." Hitsugaya muttered darkly to himself as he and Matsumoto left the Rukongai and made their way in the direction of the Squad Ten barracks.

Matsumoto couldn't really make out the words that her captain was muttering under his breath however she got the impression that he wasn't really talking to her anyway so she didn't bother asking him to repeat himself. She knew her captain's moods and this one took angry to a whole new level. Captain Hitsugaya needed to blow off some steam and this was just the best way to let him do that.

"Kid! I can't believe the nerve of him," Hitsugaya snarled.

"Wow," Matsumoto thought to herself, having heard that particular portion of the rant loud and clear. "I haven't seen the Captain this worked up since he first met Ichigo. Even Momo doesn't usually illicit this level of reaction from him and she has tons of practise setting him off."

The two Squad Ten officers went to the office that they shared and, after they'd been there for a little while, Matsumoto felt that it was most likely safe to bring up their earlier encounter with the strange blonde-haired boy. Her captain had been given ample time to cool down after his rather heated exchange with the strange youth and she figured now was as good a time as any. "Captain, don't you think that we should tell someone about those boys from the Rukongai?" At this point Matsumoto braced herself for the explosion.

It didn't come however.

Hitsugaya merely sighed and gazed over at his vice-captain, his usual stoic expression having returned to his face. "Unfortunately yes. Someone will have to be informed of their arrival due to the high level of reiatsu that one was exhibiting. I'll send a message to Head Captain Ukitake later, letting him know what we discovered."

Matsumoto nodded. Under the circumstances she thought that solution to the problem was more than adequate and quite frankly more than she had expected. It was definitely a good thing that Captain Hitsugaya took his duty seriously.

Ed blazed a trail through the forest however he was becoming increasingly more exhausted, as well as annoyed, with each step that he took. Gazing around he saw that there were still no signs of civilization and to be completely honest he was growing tired of looking. He took a few more steps and then stopped so abruptly that Al actually ran into him.

"Hey!" Al exclaimed, rubbing his nose and glaring at his brother.

"Sorry," Ed apologized once again. "But I'm too tired to walk anymore."

Al surveyed the scene. They were still in the middle of nowhere. "So what exactly do you suggest we do Nii-san?"

"We'll make a shelter," Ed replied without missing a beat. "We can rest and regain our strength, then move on tomorrow."

Al wasn't overly enthusiastic about making camp in the middle of the forest however he knew from experience that when his brother got an idea in his head there was no talking him out of it. The younger boy sighed and then nodded his head ever so slightly.

Ed's face broke into a broad grin. "Excellent! Let's get to work."

Al nodded and as the two brothers gathered up the supplies they would need to build a temporary shelter he thought, for the first time in his life, that it really was a good thing that their sensei had forced them to fend for themselves on that island during their training. "Never thought I'd be grateful for that," he thought wryly.

TBC. . .

A/N- I've wanted to write a cross over for these two anime for a long time because Ed and Toushirou are my absolute favorite characters and interaction between the two of them just has such potential and like I said in the earlier author's note the muses would not take no for an answer. I'm not sure how I feel about this fic but I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Feel free to review and let me know your thoughts on the subject.