Note: Fullmetal Achemist belongs to Hiromu Arakawa. Ouran High School Host Club belongs to Bisco Hatori. FMA timeline: Kids OVA. OHSHC timeline: post-manga. Originally posted for the livejournal community fma_fic_contest, prompt 106, crossovers. It tied for third!

Until The Day This River Flows
by Lady Eldaelen

There were many times in his life when Edward Elric thought the world was out to get him.

He wasn't sure about today, though, not yet. All indications pointed to just another spectacularly bad day in a long line of bad days that had started the year he turned ten. That sort of thing was bound to happen when the only stable parent in a family dies, or at least that's what his Gramps had always told him.

Next to him in the car, his sister smoothed imaginary wrinkles from her dress for the fifth time in as many minutes. Beside her on the other side, his cousin did the same to the lapels of his jacket. In response, Edward sighed. Another move, another school. They should have been used to this sort of thing by now.

The driver turned onto a perfectly manicured lane and all three kids leaned towards the windows, vying for a better view. The elaborately wrought ironwork set against pinked stone all but screamed excessive and Ed tried to suppress a groan. A pinch on his upper arm from his sister meant he had not succeeded.

Her eyes (Mom's eyes) were already filled with anxiety; now focused on him, they narrowed in irritation. "Don't start that, not this early!"

"Start what?"

"Your attitude. We're new here, Edward."

"We were new at the last three schools, too, Win."

She let out a delicate sniff and smoothed her dress again as the car eased to a stop. Well, it wasn't his fault that his crazy Great-Great-Grandfather Namesake had invested stock and maintained connections in obscurities like elitist private schools before he passed. Nor was it his fault that his Uncle Al finally decided to die, too, and left the three of them with more money than was polite to mention in public (though perhaps the public at this school might not bat an eye). And it certainly wasn't his fault that he didn't have a choice in much of anything anymore, not with her gone.

Edward emerged from their car and joined his sister and cousin already on the sidewalk, steeling his nerves against the new student stares and whispers that inevitably followed unfamiliar faces... and were surprisingly not coming. No, the early morning crowd paid them no notice, talking over each other and laughing as one, absorbed in their own little worlds.

He turned to his sister, who glanced at their cousin, who shrugged his shoulders in resignation at them both. With one last sigh and a final smoothing of new uniforms, the three took their first steps on the privileged grounds of Ouran Academy.

"Wait a sec- have a good day at school, Chika-chan!"

Mitsukuni Haninozuka barely had the chance to bid his brother farewell before the door of their family's vehicle slammed in his face. Only his lifetime of martial arts training and honed lightning-quick reflexes protected him from having his nose smashed against the window. He shook off his concern and turned instead to his younger cousin, who was taking a more measured time to leave.

"You'll tell Chika-chan that I said bye, right Sato-chan?"

"Sure thing, cuz." The first year caught a glimpse of himself in the rear view mirror and took a moment to run a hand through his short, dark hair - an action that had been performed not five minutes earlier by Takashi, Satoshi's older brother and Mitsukuni's best friend, who was sitting next to him. "It was nice of you to drop us off."

"We've been gone so long, we missed our little brothers!" Mitsukuni enthused, smiling at his cousins. Takashi nodded in agreement.

"Well, I gotta go," Satoshi said, glancing at his watch. "Class 1A is getting a new student today."

"And as the class representative, you have to meet them?"

"That's right! I'll see you after school, cuz, Taka-bro."

"See you later!" Mitsukuni hopped out of the car as Satoshi departed, calling out his goodbye the way he wanted to do for his brother. Satoshi gave him a final wave before disappearing beyond the entrance.

"I think they did okay while we were gone, huh, Takashi?"

"Mmm."

"Oh, there's Kyo-chan! Let's go say hi!"

At the sound of his name, Kyoya Ootori, third son, paused in front of the fountain bubbling invitingly at Ouran Academy's high school entrance. He looked around until he saw a slim hand waving his way, traced it down to the puffed-shoulder sleeve of the high school girl's uniform, and up to a recognizable face, topped with an oversized mauve hair bow.

"Kyoya! There you are!"

"Renge?"

"I was hoping to catch you before classes started. How was your flight home?"

"It went well."

"That's great! I'm glad you're back -we're all glad."

"Thank you, Renge."

Her cheeks pinked slightly and she ducked her head to rummage through her school bag until she found an Uki Doki Memorial folder, well worn around the edges. From that she pulled out a thin, plain folder and held it out. "The Host Club members aren't the only ones starting school today."

"Really?" Kyoya asked, taking the proffered folder. "How interesting."

"I wanted to get these to you, for your records. Copies of the new student forms. There's three of them, late transfers, two boys and a girl. They were studying abroad, too."

"Thanks, Renge."

"Anything for you, Kyoya. Oh, there was another student who started just after you all left... but I'm sure he'll introduce himself soon." She smiled brightly, and with the slightest bit of hesitation, gave Kyoya a quick hug. "I have to go. You'll be there this afternoon, right?"

"I wouldn't miss it," he answered, happy to note that his response, though automatic, was genuine. The scent of Renge's shampoo lingered for another few moments and Kyoya breathed deeply.

"Kyoya!"

And the day continued on with frightening regularity.

"Kyoya!" Tamaki Suoh, golden hair ruffling in the wind as he ran towards his friend, slowed down as he passed Renge heading the opposite direction. "Oh, hello, Renge."

"Sorry, Tamaki, I have to go," she apologized before hurrying off. Undeterred, Tamaki slowed further, stopping completely as he reached Kyoya's side. He flicked his hair to the side with practiced ease and it fell neatly into place. But despite looking the part, Tamaki proved he was anything but perfectly presentable as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Kyoya!" he gasped, slightly winded from what was probably a search of the entire high school area. "Have you seen Haruhi?"

"Not yet. You two didn't ride together?"

"She wouldn't let me pick her up! I haven't wanted to intrude too much on her time with Ranka since we've been back." Kyoya watched Tamaki almost physically jump from thought to thought as he worried through his mental list of priorities. "Can you believe we'll be graduating at the end of the term? I, for one, have so much studying to do to catch up in our classes!"

"I doubt that. The curriculum we studied in Boston was comparable to what we would have learned had we stayed here."

"Tama-chan! Kyo-chan!"

"Good morning, senpais!" Tamaki offered in his usual grand fashion as Honey and Mori joined their group. "I didn't think you were going to resume University classes until next term. Did you drop off your brothers?"

"Yep!" Honey beamed. Behind him, Mori nodded, his eyes sliding from Tamaki to Kyoya himself. Sensing that silent cue, Honey's expression turned slightly calculating, and he questioned, "So Kyo-chan, Takashi and I got notes from Renge-chan. there's something going on in the club room this afternoon?"

"I received that note as well and It does appear that way."

"Me too!" Tamaki added, pulling out a folded announcement on old Host Club stationary that looked identical to the one that had been waiting for Kyoya when he returned.

"Do you know what it's for?" Honey pressed.

"I do not. This is something that Renge put together herself."

"Oh," crestfallen and trying hard not to show it, Honey switched subjects, "Have you decided whether to open the Host Club again before graduation?"

At Kyoya's hesitation, Tamaki answered, "We haven't talked about it too much yet."

"I think we may want to wait until after this mysterious gathering," Kyoya pointed out.

One by one the others nodded as they took in Kyoya's statement. A contemplative silence settled on the group for a moment before Tamaki broke it with an enthusiastic declaration, "Well, whatever we decide, after such a fantastic time in the States, we'll have to work extra hard to finish the year out here in grand style!"

And with typical Tamaki-flourish, he swept his arm in a expressive arc, only to knock the head of a passing girl, hard enough to make her stumble and drop her bag.

Her two companions immediately reacted, one to steady the girl herself, the other to whirl around and set his sights on Tamaki with a deadly stare.

Horrified at his faux pas and completely unaware of the imminent danger to his person, Tamaki flailed and made to rush to the girl's side, offering his life, limb, and a fount of other equally ridiculous apologetic gestures. He was stopped as Honey stepped smoothly in front of him, placing himself between their group and the stranger. Kyoya took in the hostile expression and confident, rock-solid stance, and decided that whoever this student was, he didn't want to be on the receiving end of the kid's wrath. Tamaki continued to apologize behind Honey's arm - well, Kyoya assumed that's what he was doing, as his friend was babbling rather incoherently now in Japanese and English and mostly French.

Quickly recovered and not looking worse for wear, the girl firmly reached a hand out to her tightly-wound spring of a companion. "Edward, let it go. I'm fine."

The moment her fingers grasped the sleeve of his school blazer, Edward's threatening posture loosened, though he still scowled. He retrieved his bag from the other boy and growled a "watch what you're doing, will you?" before turning his back on the entire group and walking away. As the other two hurried to join him, Kyoya could have sworn he heard a muttered "idiot!" that nearly made Kyoya smile in spite of the troubling situation.

As the three unfamiliar students continue on their way, Kyoya remembered the folder Renge had given him. He opened it and started skimming the top page.

Edward Elric
Age: 17
Blood Type: AB
Class Placement: 2A
Sponsor: Yuzuro Suoh

So Tamaki's father had sponsored one of the new students. Either this Edward character was an exceptional honor student like Haruhi or he had some tie to the Suohs or the school. Kyoya flipped through the other pages. Winry Elric, blood type B, was in Class 1A. Alphonse Elric, blood type A, was in Class 2A. They, too, were sponsored by the Chairman.

Since Tamaki had made no mention of an acquaintance starting school with them, let alone several, Kyoya doubted they were somehow directly connected with the Suohs. Three scholarship students enrolled together so late in the school year were suspect as well, which left a tie to the school. He knew there weren't any Elrics currently affiliated with Ouran Academy locally, and hadn't come across the name while reading up on the foreign investors of both his family's business and the school's during his time in Boston. Still, Elric sounded familiar to Kyoya, in a vaguely academic sense. He decided to squeeze in some research during lunch. People capable of pulling that much weight, volatile temperaments aside, were worth knowing. Or at least worth the trouble of receiving an Ootori-style background check.

Though neither the twins nor Haruhi had made an appearance yet, Tamaki joined Kyoya when he said his goodbyes to the senpais and left for class. While walking towards the classroom wing for the third years, Tamaki admitted that as much as he had enjoyed Boston, he was surprised at how much he had missed the familiarity of Ouran's halls. Rounding the last corner, Kyoya realized that he agreed. For the first time since leaving America, he hadn't felt like he had come home until that very moment.

"Welcome back, Tamaki Suoh and Kyoya Ootori!"

A booming voice echoed through the hall, causing a handful of early arrivers to poke their heads out of doorways; Kyoya stopped mid-step. There was no need to search out the source of the greeting, as said person was already standing -no, towering- in front of them. Kyoya squinted up at the human wall that now blocked his way, wondering how the sunlight from the window managed to throw around so many sparkles. He took a step to the side to lessen the glare, but if anything the illusion only intensified.

Tamaki grinned, whether unaffected or unconcerned by the mysterious lighting effects, Kyoya could not really tell. "What a wonderful return gift, thank you... I'm sorry, I don't think we've met."

"You are quite correct, sir, but I have heard such glorious things about the two of you from our classmates." With more control and style than Tamaki had demonstrated earlier that morning, their road block swept his arms out and around his sides and presented himself in a rather graceful bow. "My name is Alexander Louis Armstrong, recent transfer student to Ouran Academy and current representative for Class 3A."

"How nice to meet you, Armstrong, I'm Tamaki Suoh and this is Kyoya Ootori, but I guess you already knew that."

"It is an honor to finally make your acquaintances. Please, call me Alex, or Alexander, if you prefer."

"Very well, and you can call me Tamaki," he winked at Kyoya, who had just begun to roll his eyes at the impropriety of the entire exchange. Relax, it's fine, his friend conveyed silently. "So you're our class representative? That used to be Kyoya's old job."

"Of that I am well aware, and may I say, with all you already accomplished, I have had a lot to live up to. Miss Jonochi has been an indispensable help, as have all the meticulously kept records you left. And of course, the position is all yours if you'd like it back."

There was nothing but sincerity in this Armstrong character's surprisingly clear blue eyes. Kyoya guessed he had at least ten centimeters of height on Mori and was nearly as broad through the shoulders as he was tall. Despite such a formidable frame, Kyoya's gut instinct was to place him firmly alongside Kasanoda in the category of potential threats. "I don't want to impose on what you're already doing. I'm sure we can find an acceptable arrangement."

"Wonderful, wonderful! I look forward to working with you, Ootori," Armstrong gushed. Kyoya had the distinct impression that his new classmate just barely held back giving him a joint-cracking hug right there on the spot. Good grief, were his eyes welling up with tears?

Before Armstrong had a breakdown, Tamaki inquired as to how he ended up at Ouran. This immediately turned into a retelling of his life story (father in the military, stationed in Japan this time, three sisters enrolled in Lobelia Girls' Academy and one in the University at Ouran, couldn't have found a more exceptional place, et cetera, et cetera) which warmed Tamaki up more to his newest friend with each additional tale. Soon the pair began drawing quite the crowd as their magnificent display of unrelated brotherly bonding manifested itself in a crescendo of classical music, a wave of self-spinning hearts, and an increase -in quantity and intensity- of those odd sparkles.

Kyoya wondered if he had just met the one person on Earth who could out-embellish Tamaki Suoh in natural extravagance.

In the hall outside of Class 1A, the trio of new students encountered an unexpected pair of cousins, as different as Ed and Al were alike, nearly beating each other to a pulp over what ended up being a disrespectful goodbye to one of their brothers. The instigator turned out to be the class representative. Oddly enough, this was all the assurance Ed needed that his sister would be looked after in her new class.

He continued on with Al upstairs to their own class where an excited girl with a large pink bow in her hair called for them by name as soon as they both cleared the doorway. Unwilling to wait the few seconds it would have taken to cross the room to her, she jumped from her seat and sashayed over to their sides, hooking her arms through the crook of their opposite elbows to lead them to a pair of empty desks in the back half of the room.

"No one likes to sit up front, especially on your first day, right?" she asked. Without pausing for an answer, she kept talking, introducing herself, remarking on how nice it was to get new classmates, have they been enjoying the country, and so on, until Ed immediately lost track of what she was saying and simply let her guide him along.

"I know it's short notice," the girl said after she finally took a breath, handing them a pale pink envelope with a rosebud motif, "but I'm organizing an event this afternoon, sort of a welcome reception, and I'd be honored if you would attend -Winry, too. You don't have to say anything now, just keep it in mind."

She excused herself and returned to her own desk as quickly as she had joined them.

"I'm not just saying this because I know Renge, but you should really consider going to that," said the girl sitting directly behind the seat Ed settled into. "I don't know exactly what is going to happen this afternoon, but if it's related to the Club, it's sure to be a lot of fun."

"Today's your first day?" The girl smiled warmly as Ed and Al nodded. "Well, welcome! I've been at Ouran since I started high school, but I just finished studying for a year in Boston, so we're all starting something new." She extended her hand, which Al shook. "I'm Haruhi Fujioka."

"Oh wow, we just got back from studying abroad, too! I'm Alphonse and this is Ed."

"Where was your program based?"

"Siberia," Ed muttered.

Haruhi blinked, decided he must be joking, and laughed. Al promptly joined in, and Ed even managed a smile.

"So are you two brothers?" Haruhi questioned.

"Cousins," Al corrected.

Nodding, Haruhi whispered, "speaking of brothers," as her eyes were drawn towards the door. A moment later she addressed a pair of students, identical in every noticeable way, who had walked over to the empty desks on either side of Haruhi, "Where have you two been?"

"Our alarms were still set on Boston time. Nice dress, and good morning to you, too," they spoke together before sitting down and resting their heads on their arms at the exact same time.

"Wake me up for lunch-" the one on the left mumbled. Without missing a beat, the one on the right followed up with an equally weary, "-will you, Haruhi?"

The girl in question rolled her eyes.

Despite finding more about the Club in question from Haruhi and the Hitachiins ("Really, a high school host club?" Ed had scoffed, "Isn't that illegal somehow?" To which the twins had replied together, "Yeah, probably."), at the end of the day, they decided to go to Renge's mystery event. One: they didn't have any other plans aside from doing homework and eating dinner in their newly acquired and depressingly empty mansion on the other side of the city. And two: the whole thing -the entire ridiculous excuse for a school and every last one of its students, each more quirky than the last- was simply too curious to leave alone. They were Elrics after all, an attraction to weirdness ran in their blood.

"Okay," Winry said, staring at a hand drawn map of the school, compliments of Haruhi, "according to the directions, Music Room 3 should be at the end of this hall- wow."

Without meaning to, all three had stopped on top step of the South Building's north hall staircase. Light poured in through the rows of windows and the polished marble glowed with an unnatural beauty. From the second floor, the distant sounds of the orchestra swelled in the climax of their warm-up concerto and outside a flock of passing birds cast perfectly synchronized swoops of shadows along the walls, only adding to the grandeur of the hall.

"You two ready for this?" Ed asked as they stood in front of closed double doors a few minutes later. He wasn't exactly convinced that he was prepared himself. In response, Winry smoothed her dress and Al reached for one of the door handles. Ed grabbed hold of the other and together they pulled the doors open. Through a billow of flower petals and shimmery glitter and a heady puff of perfumed air that wasn't entirely unpleasant, the three stepped inside.

A chorus of voices chimed in unison, "Welcome to the Host Club!"

There were many times in his life when Edward Elric had humored his Gramps's ideas to stay on guard because the world was out to get him, but today was not one of them.

No, today Edward would have bet his Uncle Al's entire unwanted inheritance that the world was not only out to get him, but had one twisted sense of humor.

And he would have won.

3/17/2011