A/N: Hello people!!! Well, since my last chapter was a couple days late, I decided to have the next chapter up a day early, just for you! Well, like always plz read and review, and enjoy the next chapter!

Chapter IV

Explanations and Complications

"Is that the village?" Ed asked as he stopped to overlook a small set of huts from atop a hill.

"Yes, it is," Miroku answered, stopping beside him, "And once we arrive, Kaede can answer all of your questions." Ed nodded his head and then he and Miroku caught up to the others.

"Hey Miroku," Sango whispered as he walked up next to her, "Do really think that Kaede will know how to send them back to their time?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Miroku whispered back, "Kagome said that they already tried to use the well, but it didn't work. So, they may have to find another accessible time stream, which isn't likely to be found easily, if at all."

"Well, we can't be sure of anything until Kaede confirms it," Sango replied, noticing that Ed seemed to be listening.

After traveling for a little while longer, they finally reached the village. As everyone walked to where Kaede's hut sat, they saw a small boy with a big fluffy tail run out of it.

"Kagome!" the little boy shouted with glee as he jumped into her arms, "You're ok!"

As the reunion was occurring, Ed and Al's attentions were drawn to something else. They noticed that almost every single villager was staring at them. They also heard them whispering things like, 'Look at what they're wearing', 'Are they demons?', 'What business do they have here?', and 'What's with the guy in the armor?'

"Uh...nothing to see here folks," Ed persuaded, but that only caused more people to stare. Ed sighed in defeat.

"Hey Kagome, who are they?" the boy asked as he pointed his finger at Ed and Al. Ed and Al turned back around after hearing their names being mentioned.

Ed gasped. "Kaede, I have so much I need to ask you," he said. The boy stared at them blankly.

"I'm not Kaede," he replied, "Do I look like an old priestess to you?"

"Uh, no, I guess not," Ed said, "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," he answered, "Just call me Shippo!"

"So, Shippo, can you tell us where Kaede is?" Al asked. Just as Shippo was about to answer, an old woman came walking out of the hut.

"Did someone call my name?" she asked.

"Um…I did," Ed replied quietly.

"Aye, and what did ye want?" Kaede inquired. Ed remained silent, and seemed a bit flustered.

"They need some advice," Kagome answered for him, "On how to get back to their time." Kaede stared at them, wide eyed. Now she seemed to understand.

"I see," she replied, "Well, then let us go inside. It seems we have a lot to talk about." Everyone slowly followed her into the hut. Once they were inside, everyone took a seat on the floor as Kaede started a small fire.

"Alright," Kaede started, "to begin with, what are ye names?"

"My name is Edward," he replied seeming melancholy, "And that's Alphonse."

Kaede nodded her head. "And, what happened before ye fell into the well?"

"We were running away from a Lieutenant Colonel named Frank Archer, in Ishbal," Al explained.

"Hmm…Ishbal?" Kaede questioned, "I've never heard of that place before. Have ye Kagome?" Kagome shook her head. "Tell me what happened next," Kaede said.

"We found an underground passage beneath an old temple," Ed continued, "At the end of the passage, we found the well."

"And how is it that ye managed to fall in?" Kaede asked.

"Well, when I leaned over the rim of well, my watch began to pull itself towards the bottom," Ed explained as he held up his watch, "Finally it detached itself and when I hopped down to get it, we were sent here." After Ed finished, Kaede said nothing. She just remained silent with her eyes closed, apparently deep in thought.

"And ye did try to get back through the well, yes?" Kaede questioned, her eyes remaining shut.

"Yeah, but it didn't work," Al answered. Because of Kaede's question, Ed and Al already knew what she was going to say next.

"Unfortunately, I don't know how to send ye back home," she said. Ed and Al lowered their heads. "I am truly sorry," she said. Ed and Al remained silent, with their heads hung over.

"Brother," Al said quietly, "What are we going to do now?" Ed didn't reply.

"You're going to travel with us!" Kagome said breaking the cold silence. This outburst surprised everyone.

"Kagome! What are you thinking!?" Inuyasha complained, "Have you forgotten! We have to go after Naraku!"

"I know that!" Kagome shouted back at him, "Remember when we were fighting the rat demon, and the saimyosho showed up. That proves that Naraku may have been the one who brought them here!"

"If what ye say is true," Kaede cut in, "Then it would be best if they did accompany ye."

"No, it's okay," Al piped in, "We wouldn't want to be a bother."

"Alphonse, you and your brother are not a bother," Miroku replied, "We'd be more than happy to help you. Right Inuyasha?" Miroku passed a glance over to him.

Inuyasha just crossed his arms, "Whatever."

"Thanks you guys," Ed said.

"Um…I hope I don't sound noisy, but what's your world like?" Sango asked.

"Well, I guess I should start with the most obvious," Ed replied, "Where we're from there aren't demons. But there are many alchemists, like me and Al."

"And alchemy is that attack you used to defeat the rat demon, yes?" Miroku asked.

"Yup," Ed said, "The science of breaking things down and transfiguring them into something else. In other words, Equivalent Exchange."

"Wait, so you mean that if you give something of equivalent value you can gain whatever you want?" Inuyasha asked, now seeming to be interested in the conversation.

"Pretty much," Ed replied, "But if you don't give up something of equal value….."

"What will happen?" Kagome asked.

"The transmutation will backfire, and well…." Ed trailed off again. Ed then lifted up his jacket sleeve to reveal his auto-mail. Everyone gasped. "And, well, this could happen."

"What transmutation did you fail?" Shippo asked shakily. Ed and Al looked at each other.

"Bringing our mother back to life," Al answered. Again, everyone gasped.

"I lost an arm and a leg, and Al lost his body," Ed said lowly.

"Your brother didn't lose his body though," Sango pointed out. Ed looked at Al, and then Al nodded his head. Al then removed his helmet to reveal the truth about his appearance. This shocked everyone, even Inuyasha.

"How can he be alive if he has no body?" Miroku asked.

"See this," Ed pointed inside his brother's armor. Everyone gathered around and looked at what Ed was pointing at. Inside Al's armor was a symbol drawn in blood. "It's a blood seal," Ed finished, "It's what attaches his soul to the armor."

"And this all happened because you failed a transmutation?" Kaede questioned. Ed and Al slowly nodded their heads.

"B-b-but why didn't your transmutation work?" Shippo asked shakily.

"There's nothing we could give up in exchange for her soul," Al explained.

"How did your mother die?" Miroku asked.

"Depression," Ed said, gritting his teeth, "After our Dad just got up and left." After his answer, no one wanted to ask them anymore questions.

"So," Ed said happily, "Enough about us! What about you guys?"

"What about us?!" Inuyasha asked angrily.

"Well, what's your life story?" Al asked both he and Ed leaving the past comment.

"Well, I guess the best place to start would be, 50 years ago," Miroku began, "When-" Miroku stopped mid sentence, acting as if he said something he wasn't supposed to. Everyone was silent again, not knowing who should tell it, or where to start. The silence confused Ed and Al.

"Did we say something wrong?" Ed asked.

Kagome glanced over at Inuyasha. He had his head hung low, and everyone knew exactly why. "Inuyasha," Kagome said lowly.

"I'm going for a walk," Inuyasha replied and left the hut without speaking another word.

"Inuyasha wait!" Kagome called as she walked out after him. Everyone watched as the two of them left.

"What's wrong with Inuyasha and Kagome?" Al asked.

"Perhaps it would be better for me to explain by finishing my earlier statement," Miroku suggested. Ed and Al nodded their heads. "Well, this all started about 50 years ago," Miroku repeated, "When Inuyasha was in love with Kikyo." Ed and Al both shared surprised expressions. This defiantly explained why Inuyasha and Kagome had left.

"So, who is Kikyo exactly?" Ed asked.

"She was my older sister," Kaede answered as she threw another log into the fire.

"Was?" Al questioned.

"She was a powerful priestess," Sango added, "And that's why she was entrusted by demon slayers like me, to protect and purify the Sacred Jewel."

"The Sacred Jewel?" Ed and Al asked.

"It's a powerful stone that can grant any wish and can be used as a source of power for demons," Shippo piped in.

"Sounds a lot like the Philosopher's Stone," Ed said looking at Al, "That's what we've been searching for in order to restore our bodies back to normal."

"I see," Miroku replied, "They are similar in their sense of power."

"To continue," Kaede started again, "Inuyasha was after the Sacred Jewel. That's how he met my sister. They soon fell in love, but no later than to be deceived by Naraku."

"Naraku?" Ed questioned.

Kaede nodded and continued. "On the day of Kikyo's death, Inuyasha had planned to meet her and use the Sacred Jewel to become human for her, since as you know he is a half-demon."

"You mean he's a demon?!" Ed and Al exclaimed.

"Ye mean ye didn't know?" Kaede questioned. Ed and Al shook their heads.

"Well, that would explain how he heard us before," Ed said to Al.

"Yup! Inuyasha's a dog demon, so he has super good hearing," Shippo added, "And I'm a demon too!"

"You are?!" Al said surprised.

"Yup, I'm a-," Shippo began to answer, but was interrupted by Ed who made a guess.

"A raccoon demon?" Ed asked as he gently picked Shippo up by the tail.

"No!" Shippo shouted as he leaped out of Ed's arms, "I'm a fox!"

"Yes, and Kirara is a demon as well," Sango added, petting the cat as she mewed at being mentioned. Kaede then cleared her throat loudly.

"Anyways, as I was saying," she started again. "Now where was I…..ah yes, on the day Kikyo and Inuyasha were to meet, Naraku disguised himself as Inuyasha and killed Kikyo. He also took the form of Kikyo and attempted to kill Inuyasha. Angered by her betrayal, Inuyasha stole the Sacred Jewel only to be stopped by Kikyo herself. She used the last of her strength to seal him to the Sacred Tree. Soon after he was sealed, my sister passed on and we burned the jewel with her body."

"50 years later, Kagome came through the well as you did today. She released Inuyasha from his seal soon after arriving. He mistook her for Kikyo, as did I the first time I saw her. She is indeed the reincarnation of Kikyo, and thus being, the jewel was inside her. It was later removed by an attack of a demon called Mistress Centipede."

"Soon after it was removed, it was accidentally shattered into many shards and thrown all over the place," Sango picked up where Kaede had left off, "We've been trying to gather all of the pieces before Naraku does."

"So, what connection with Naraku do you have?" Al asked.

"He killed everyone in my demon-slayer village, only leaving me and my brother Kohaku," Sango answered, dreading this memory of her past, "But he took Kohaku from me and is now using him as his puppet with a sacred jewel shard."

"That's so cruel," Al said sadly. Miroku noticed Sango's eyes getting watery, so he put his arm around her and continued the explanations.

"As for me, Naraku cursed my grandfather with a Wind Tunnel in his right hand that would grow every year and eventually consume him," Miroku said, "The Wind Tunnel has already consumed my grandfather and my father, so now it is my turn to carry the curse until we destroy Naraku."

"You've all been affected by Naraku so much," Al replied.

"We have, and that is why we will never give up until he's dead," Miroku said finishing the discussions.

"So, why does Inuyasha want the Jewel now?" Ed asked, "What use does he have for it?"

"He wants to use it to become a full demon," Kaede answered. Ed and Al looked like they wanted a better explanation than that.

"You see, because Inuyasha is half human and half demon, neither race will accept him," Miroku further explained, "He has been treated that way all of his life. And that is why Kagome means so much to him. Because she was the first person to accept him for what he is."

"But what about Kikyo?" Al inquired, "Did she not accept his half demon state?"

"Well, she never commented on him being a half demon," Kaede said, "But she did wish him to be human, so that she in return would no longer be bound to the Sacred Jewel."

"That seems kinda selfish when you put it like that," Shippo replied.

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Miroku agreed.

"DEMONS!" a villager shouted as he ran and threw open the bamboo curtain of Kaede's hut.

"Kensuke! What's going on?!" Kaede asked worriedly.

"Lady Kaede, there are large bird demons attacking the village!" he shouted.

Everyone gasped slightly and ran outside. Sure enough, huge vulture looking demons were attacking the village.

"Lady Kaede, what should we do?" Kensuke asked.

"We will take care of them, just tell the villagers to take cover for now," she replied.

Kensuke nodded and ran to warn the villagers. As the bird demons quickly approached, everyone prepared for the battle ahead.