"you didn't have to."

"but I think you will be quite please with my selection" he smirked, lifting his fur slightly, "come out."

"mama?"

"Sh-...Shi-p-po?" Kagome fell to her knees

"MAMA!" the small kit sobbed, running to her

"oh, SHIPPO!" Kagome sobbed, hugging the fox tightly

"I missed you so much, mama!"

"Sesshomaru...you-"

"I had talked with Keade, she said it might allow Shippo and myself to pass through if we gave her something of great value to put in the potion she was making."

"oh, thank you so much!"

"I heard you said you are not returning" he looked immensely pained by that simple phrase

"...I would love to, but.." she looked towards Ed and Al, "you see...a childhood friend of mine...the one in the red jacket...it's..."

"his name?"

"it's Edward Elric" Ed told him, bowing slightly, then went over to where Kagome sat

"you WILL treat her right or I will make you beg for mercy" Sesshomaru glared, "do you understand me? I can live for many many centuries. I will be back to visit when I have become a part of this time to make sure she is well taken care of."

"what is it with those in your life threatening me to take good care of you, Kagome?" Ed laughed for a moment

"Ed, Lord Sesshomaru is stronger than my dad ten times over. he doesn't need alchemy to back it up. his claws are poisonous when he wants them to be"

"I am faster, stronger, and harder to defeat then any human I have ever met in my 700 years"

"but you were still tamed by two female humans" Kagome giggled

"if only the same could be said for the half-breed" he glared at Inuyasha

"KAGOME! WHAT'S GOING O-you...what in the hell are you doing here you filthy mutt?! I should have you killed for the trauma you caused my daughter!" Roy yelled, furius with Inuyasha

"Inuyasha, this is my father, Roy. he's also known as the flame alchemist" to demonstrate that Roy snapped his fingers and tossed a small fireball at the concrete 5 yards away from everyone

"have you forgotten my kimono protects me from fire?"

"I'd love to test the limits of that claim." he smirked darkly, challenging the hanyou

"Roy! calm down! he's being civil. also, this is his older half-brother, Lord Sesshomaru. ruler of the western lands back in the feudal era. he was kind enough to bring me the best gift any man has ever given me"

"what?" Roy was neraly foaming at the mouth

"he brought me my son!"

"SON?!"

"god...adoptive! you should know I can't give birth to a full blooded fox demon! ANYWAY! this is Shippo! I told you about him"

"ah, so THIS is little Shippo." Roy smiled ever-so-softly at the fox

"are you my mama's papa?"

"yes I am"

"so...you're my grandpa?"

"I guess so" Roy laughed

"YAY! I HAVE A GRANDPA!" he leapt onto Roy's shoulder, "...-you smell like ashes..."

"he-...it's kind of like your fox fire. dad, show him"

"sure" he snapped his finger and tossed a small fireball at the same spot of concrete, "show me this fox fire she mentioned"

"can I mama?"

"yes, but only if you aim at the dark spot there" she smiled pointing at the spot Roy singed twice

"OKAY! FOX FIRE!" he held out his tiny furry palm and a small blue flame was shot at the singed concrete

"impressive!" Roy beamed, "what else can you do?"

"can I show him everything, mama?"

"be careful, Shippo, Ed could you make a concrete wall if his tricks get out of hand to stop them?" she winked at Ed, telling him if he did that, he'd win a "brownie point" or two with Roy

"yeah"

"we can go to the training ring"

"I'll help too!" Al said, chasing after the three

"so...about why I can't return with you..."

"you've fallen for that, Ed, one haven't you?"

"yes, I have."

"does he feel the same?"

"yes, he does. truth be told, he's taken most of the space Inuyasha used to have of my heart."

"oi!" said hanyou barked

"you did that by yourself! you COULD have had me! but you chose Kikyo."

"keh!"

"I will miss you dearly, Kagome"

"I know, and I'll miss you too, Sesshomaru. for some crazy reason, I'll even miss you too, Inuyasha"

"the west will never be the same without you."

"you still have Rin and Kagura"

"Kagura has mentioned to me she wouldn't mind being a back-up plan. hn, she says she'll find a way into my heart. she'll have to get Rin's loyalty and affection to even have a chance of gaining mine."

"that sounds like a great plan, if Kagura can prove to Rin that she's not a threat, but actually a frie-" Kagome was cut off by a yell

"BROTHER!"

"oh my god, Ed!" Kagome yelped, running full speed towards the voice. when she got there, she was shocked, "WH-WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?! WHY IS ED'S HAND BURNED?!"

"it wasn't me, Mama, I promise!" Shippo held his tiny hands up in surrender. he took a few steps backwards.

"...Shippo..." Kagome sighed, she knelt down, and watched the kit dash into her lap, "I know you wouldn't hurt Ed." Kagome's expression went from compassion to seething anger in moments, "Dad, what happened?"

"Brother! wake up! come on!" Al whined, sitting next to the blonde alchemist.

"Al, can you please tell me what happened? why is Ed burned like this?"

"w-well, the Colonel fou-"

"Kagome, how cou-"

"I'M NOT TALKING TO YOU." she glared visciously. then sighed, and sat behind Ed so she could put his head on her lap, "oh, Ed..." she whispered. Kagome looked up towards Al, "please, tell me what happened"

"well, I don't know how, but Colonel Mustang found out about that um...kiss that you shared with brother the other night. the next thing I saw was a flame headed straight for brother. I tried to pull him out of the way, but he still got burned. I'm sorry, Kagome, I tried my be-"

"oh, Al..." Kagome smiled softly, "you have no reason to be sorry, knowing how...the Colonel." Kagome spat out, "is, he was aiming for a fatal blow to the heart. thank you, Al. really, thanks to you, Ed is alive, he's not exactly conscious, but he's definitely alive, he probably passed out from the pain"

"I just feel so bad that Brother might have to get automail on that arm too..."

"no, he won't need that" Kagome smiled gently, she took a deep breath, then balled up her left hand until it glowed a light pink color, she pressed her hand to the top of his shoulder, he winced for a quick second then greatly relaxed as her hand traveled down the arm and over his hand. she did that twice, then chanted something before letting out a long sigh. she glared at Roy, "I can't believe you actually did that to Ed. I can't help who I fall in love with! HE should be a perfect example of that." Kagome snapped, pointing at Inuyasha

"OI!" Inuyasha barked

"Kagome, I had told-"

"you KNOW how I feel about those who hurt the people closest to me. you have lost nearly all of my respect for you, I hope you're happy, Mustang."

"is Brother going to be alright, Kagome?"

"he'll be fine, but it'll take a little while for his arm to heal completely."

"m-mama?"

"hmm? yeah? what is it, Shippo?"

"does...this mean he's NOT my grandpa?"

"you still have a great grand-dad, you remember Gramps, right?"

"you mean the one with no spirit energy that lives in the shrine?"

"yeah. I'll have to visit the shrine with you some day so you can meet him and my mom and Souta."

"that sounds like a lot of fun!" Shippo smiled.