.

when you broke my heart

it scattered across the world

in a million shards

.

Ling had always had the tendency to go around acting as if he owned the world, but that habit seemed to get particularly worse whenever he happened to visit the Elric brothers. Ed kept asking why Ling even wanted to visit them in the first place, but everyone knew the reason. He just enjoyed messing with Ed.

"Ling, I really don't think you should-" Al said as he chased the determined prince down the hall.

"Nonsense!" Ling said with a wide grin and wave of his hand. "Why wouldn't he want to see his future brother-in-law?"

"Well, it's just, he's sleeping, and lately he's been having these really nasty dreams-" But before Al could say anything else, Ling had burst the door to Ed's bedroom open.

"Edward! My bosom friend! How are you this fine morning?"

"Go away," Ed muttered, waving a hand at Ling and dragging a pillow over his head.

"But Edward! It's already nine, and it's a lovely day! How can you still be abed at this hour?" With that, Ling plucked the pillow off of Ed's head.

Ed reached around for a minute trying to find the pillow, but when he realized it was gone, he shot up into a sitting position, glaring at Ling. Al took a step back. He knew Ed had never been a morning person, but lately Ed had been downright terrifying in his sleep. Even now, Ed was cracking his knuckles and holding his hands like he expected them to have claws.

"Are you deaf?" he said in a low tone. Ling smiled.

"But my dear Edward-"

"I said get the hell out, Koga, now GET. THE. HELL. OUT!" Ed said, yanking the pillow from Ling and throwing himself back to the bed with the pillow over his head. Al expected Ling to continue antagonizing Ed, but instead, he raised an eyebrow, turned around, and left the room.

"Where did he hear that?" he said to Al once they were in the hall. Al blinked.

"Hear what?"

"Koga. Why did he call me that? Where did he hear it?"

Al sighed. "I don't know. He's been saying a lot of nonsense in his sleep lately. Sometimes he starts sounding like he's speaking another language, but I've never heard it before."

"It's not nonsense, Al," Ling said, glacing back at Ed's bedroom door. "Koga is another one of my names. But only my most trusted advisors know it." He paused and looked back up at Alphonse. "Koga is the name I had in a past life."

Al frowned. "But how would Brother know it?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Ling said, crossing his arms. "Either someone leaked the information and it found its way to Ed, or..." Ling paused and licked his lips. "Or he knew me in this past life of mine."

"But that's-" Al cut himself off before he could say "impossible," for fear of sounding rude. He had always thought the idea of reincarnation sounded ridiculous, but he knew from his many conversations with Mei that it was taken very seriously in Xing. Ling quirked an eyebrow at Al, seeming to know what Al had almost said anyway.

"I know what most Amestrians think of reincarnation," Ling said with a smirk. "But the woman who told me of my past life is very wise, and I found a lot of peace after I talked with her. Isn't it worth trying if it could cure your brother of these nightmares?"

Al bit his lip. He couldn't argue with that. Even the most ridiculous theories would be worth it if they helped prevent Ed from suffering more. "He'll never agree to it though," Al said with a shake of his head. "Brother will just say it's all baloney and he's fine."

"Then we won't tell him we're meeting my advisor," Ling said with a smirk. "You'll just have a regular visit with my sister, and we'll bump into my advisor while we're there."

"Oh boy," Al muttered as he felt the blood drain from his face. He knew he was somehow going to get dragged into this crazy plan, but if Ed figured it out before they were done, heads were gonna roll.

"Don't worry about it," Ling said with a wide smile and a wave of his hand. "I'll take care of it all. You just convince your brother to come with you to Xing."

"You're not… You're not just doing this to annoy him, are you?" Al said, narrowing his eyes. Ling dropped his smile and gave Al a hard stare.

"Alphonse, as much as I may play around with annoying your brother, I do honestly care about him," he said. "And I owe him my life. If it's within my power to make Ed's life better, then I will do it, no matter the hardship."

Ling paused and let the words hang in the air for a minute before he adopted his mischevious smirk again. "But if I get to annoy him in the process, that's just a bonus perk!"

"Oh geez," Al muttered with a roll of his eyes. Those two really were terrible around each other. Ling then made his excuses for "preparations" and ran off, but Al knew that was just his polite way of saying he was going to raid their kitchen. Al decided he would worry about that later and turned back to Ed's room. He was still worried about Ed. Ed wouldn't mind if Al just checked on him one more time. The door creaked as Al opened it, and he tiptoed inside.

Ed was tangled in the blankets, frowning and clutching at his left shoulder. Al blinked. His left? But why would he be clutching that side when it had been his right arm that had been automail for so many years?

"Brother?" Al said softly. Ed's frown deepened.

"Brother," he repeated, mumbling in his sleep. "Sesshōmaru?"

Al frowned. There was the gibberish again. It sounded like some sort of question, but Al had no idea how to answer it. Well, when in doubt, just go with it. "Um… Yes?"

Ed made a low sound in the back of his throat. Was he… Was he growling? Al took a step back. Maybe yes was the wrong answer.

"Don't you dare..." Ed muttered. "Don't you dare hurt her."

"Hurt who, Brother?" Was he talking about Winry? But why would he ever think Al would want to hurt Winry? Ed huffed in his sleep and rolled over. Al sighed and walked up to the bed. "I just want to help. Just tell me how to help you. What can I do?"

"Find Kagome," Ed muttered before pulling the covers over his head.

Convincing Ed to go to Xing ended up being less difficult than Al thought. Of course, Ed still grumbled all the way, but he at least went. Al decided to be grateful for the little things.

One day, Mei got wrapped up in some of her political work, and Ed (being Ed) had slept in, so Al was left with no one to occupy his time. He ended up wandering the palace aimlessly, looking at the various pieces of art on the walls.

Eventually he found that his feet had taken him to a courtyard. It was bright and cheerful, with plants blooming all around. In the center of the courtyard was a large tree with an almond shaped scar on its trunk. Al found himself drawn to it, like the tree was calling to him. Something about it seemed familiar, like maybe it reminded him of the tree that had grown next to their house when he was little.

"Al! Al, where'd you run off to? Al! Where are- Ah!" Al turned, and Ed was coming into the courtyard. "C'mon Al, let's get out-" He stopped as he looked at the tree, a frown forming on his face.

"What's that?"

"It's a tree, silly," Al said with a laugh as he looked back at the tree.

"I know, but..." Ed shook his head. "I don't like it. Something about here feels dangerous."

"You're just paranoid." Al rolled his eyes. "It feels lovely here. It's beautiful."

"I'm not saying the tree is bad, I'm saying-" Ed cut off with a grunt as he grabbed the left side of his chest.

"Ah, I see you two found the great tree on your own," came a voice behind them. Al turned to see Ling standing in the doorway to the courtyard with a smirk. Next to him was a woman who wasn't quite old enough to be a grandmother, but not quite young enough to be a mother.

Probably about the same age our mom would be, Al thought to himself. He knew better than to say something like that out loud when Ed was around. But Ed seemed to notice too, his breath calming as he straightened his posture and let go of his shoulder. She was Xingese with dark hair and dark eyes, so she looked nothing like their mother, but something about her felt motherly. Like she was the kind of woman who was everyone's mother.

"This is Rue," Ling said, gesturing to the woman. "She's the one I was telling you about, Al."

"Huh?" Al looked at the woman again. This was the wise advisor Ling had been telling him about?

"Ling is too boastful," Rue said with a smile and shake of her head. "It's not me you want to be talking to, it's The Great Tree. I'm merely its translator."

"Al, what's going on?" Ed narrowed his eyes and glanced over to Al. Al let out a nervous chuckle.

"Well, Ling just thought that this might be able to help with some of your recent nightmares."

"I'm not going to talk to a tree about how I'm sleeping at night!" Ed groaned and threw his hands in the air. Meanwhile Rue was walking through the courtyard to place a hand on the trunk of the tree. Ed moved to storm out of the courtyard.

"The tree was wondering if you're still having the nightmares about an arrow piercing your heart," Rue said. Ed stopped, grabbing the left side of his chest again. He spun around.

"How do you know that?"

"I don't. The tree does. The tree says you had the same nightmares in your last life as well."

Ed groaned and looked over to Al. "Really, Al? Reincarnation?"

"Maybe just listen," Al said, glancing between Ed and the tree. "If it helps, then it helps. And if it doesn't, then I'll just let it go, okay?"

Ed sighed. "Fine. What else does the tree say, then?"

Rue smiled. "You may want to sit down. The tree says you two share a lot of history."

"How?" Ed frowned. "I've never seen that tree before in my life."

"This life," Rue corrected. "Besides, trees are world straddlers. They're in many worlds at once. They're the glue that holds our universes together. It also means that they see many things, many people. The tree doesn't see you based on your body. It sees your soul and recognizes you from another lifetime, another world."

Ed shot Al a glare, as if silently lecturing his younger brother for making him stay. Al gave him a weak grin and shrugged.

"The tree says you come from another world where there was magic. You were born between magic and humans, and fell in love with a human. But then the two of you had a misunderstanding, and she used her magic to bind you to this tree.

"Eventually, she came back-" Rue frowned and shook her head. "No. She… She reincarnated, and then traveled through time to find you again. You're having nightmares because things were left unresolved between the two of you when she died. You need to find her and clear the air between the two of you."

Ed frowned. "So, what, she's traveling through time or something to find me?" He waved his hand around in the air as if girls just regularly floated through the ether if one was only willing to pull them out.

"No," Rue said with a laugh. "Souls don't know time. They can come from the future and reincarnate in the past. She's reincarnated as well. You need to figure out who she is."

"And how exactly do I do that?"

"You left many people unresolved in your last life when you died, and many of them have followed you to continue supporting you on your journey. They will help you, if you ask. The tree says you also need to learn how to talk to them so they remember. Come forward and place your hand on the tree, and it will tell you how."

Ed narrowed his eyes. "I… I don't think so."

"You're only afraid because your subconsconscious is worried you'll be bound again. Come, it's perfectly safe."

"Just try, Brother," Al said, pleading with wide eyes. "Just try. Please."

"Fine." Ed groaned and went over to the tree. He reached his left hand out towards the trunk, slightly pulled it back, then shook his head and pressed it against the bark.

The courtyard was completely silent for a moment, aside from a gust of wind that swept through. Ed's braid tossed in the wind, but he didn't seem to notice.

Then Ed cried out as if he had been struck by something. Al rushed forward a few steps, but Rue gesturned at him to stay put. Al could feel his legs straining to go to Ed and support him. Ed was in pain. Al hated just letting him suffer through that.

After another minute, Ed pulled his hand away from the tree, his head hanging. Al wanted to immediately ask if Ed was okay, but something about Ed felt… off. Dangerous. Ed reached up and pulled out his braid so his hair hung loose over his shoulders.

"Uh… Ed? Brother?" Al said, taking another step towards Ed. When Ed turned around, he was looking at Al with a fierce gaze that Al wasn't used to having directed at him.

"If you're talking to me, kid, ya got the wrong person," Ed said with a crack of his knuckles. "'Cause I ain't this Ed guy."

"Well," Al said with a lick of his lips. "Then who are you?" Ed smirked as if that was exactly the question he had been waiting for.

"Inuyasha."

Before you get upset with me about another fanfic... I know. I'm with you guys, honestly. But I've been writing so much original fiction lately, and I really needed a chance to write without worrying about hitting plot points or avoiding adverbs, and all that stuff that ends up stressing me out. So I needed a form of writing that was more relaxing than my writing, if that makes sense. And I thought about how I'd been watching Inuyasha lately, and how I had this idea for a crossover, and... Well, since I couldn't find anything to read like this, I figured writing it was my next best bet.

Anyway, don't expect stellar prose or anything from this. It's literally just the first thing that comes to my head for my own personal amusement, so who knows where this will go. I already have a second chapter in waiting though, so I won't just leave you hanging here.

Yes, another reincarnation/love story, in yet another crossover that is out of date/old/not popular. I have a problem, okay?