"Okay," she kissed him softly, "I’m going ahead to check for a river," she told him before taking off into the forest. As she darted between the trees, she reached out with her mind for a river energy. But then she felt her mind brush against another person, and a familiar one at that. She turned and shot toward it. What she found made her want to burst with happiness.

There in the clearing, was a boy with silver hair, doggy ears, and red clothes. There was a girl at the edge of the clearing, walking toward the boy. She knew by his scent and appearance, that it was her best friend. So she masked her aura and shot into the clearing. Before he even realized she was there, she tackled him.

"What the hell!?" he yelled as she brought him to the ground. "Who the hell are you?! What the hell do you want?!"

"Get up and fight!" she ordered as she drew her sword. This was going to be fun.

"Fine, if you say so," he stood and drew his own sword. "You’re just a wench! How am I supposed to fight a woman?!"

"No choice, unless you want to run away," she grinned slyly at him. He still hadn’t recognized her. So she charged at him. It didn’t take long for her to have him on the ground with her sword at his throat. Just as she was about to let him up, a bright light came across the clearing. A second later she had an arrow between two fingers. "Get up Pup," she sheathed her sword and twirled the arrow in her fingers.

"Aryana?" the boy asked in a whisper.

"You can’t fight any better than you could sixty years ago. What have you been doing all this time, Inuyasha?" Aryana shook her head. Then another arrow came at her from across the clearing. She caught it, as she had the first one. "Whoever the hell you are, could you stop shooting at me?!?!" Aryana shouted at the girl that had shot the arrows.

"Aryana!!" Inuyasha jumped up and hugged her.

"Took you long enough to recognize me, you dumb pup," she thumped the end of his nose.

"Kagome come here!!" he called to the girl.

"You’re a nice shot. Here are your arrows," Aryana handed them to the confused Kagome.

"Wasn’t she about to kill you just now?" Kagome asked.

"Why on Earth would I do that? I spent almost 200 years raising this nut bar," Aryana punched him in the shoulder.

"Who are you?" Kagome asked in confusion.

"I am Aryana. Izayoi was my best friend, and when she passed, I got her brat," Aryana pulled on one of Inuyasha’s dog ears.

"Hey!" he slapped her hand.

"You raised Inuyasha?" Kagome gaped at her.

"Damn right!" Aryana said with a great deal of pride in her voice. "We have much to talk about," she told Inuyasha, who nodded. So they went back to the group’s camp. Aryana heard the story of how Inuyasha and Kikyo fell into Naraku’s trap, that killed Kikyo and got Inuyasha pinned to the God Tree. Then of how Kagome freed him, and the shard was shattered, and now they were seeking the shards. And how they all wanted revenge on Naraku for one reason or another.

Then she told him of the sorcery that she had learned, and the child she was taking care of. But she didn’t mention Sesshomaru.

After they had finished with their stories, Kagome started to cook, and they fell into regular conversation. Then Shippo hopped up beside Inuyasha.

"What’s that bruise on your neck?" Shippo asked innocently. Aryana’s eyes widened, and she grabbed her neck.

"Here, look," Kagome handed her a mirror. She snapped it open and looked at her neck. The look on Kagome’s face told Aryana that the girl knew that it wasn’t your normal bruise. The reflection confirmed this. It was a hickey.

Aryana couldn’t help but laugh. Shippo looked confused. "I don’t get it," the kitsune said.

"It’s just a hickey," she grinned at Kagome who stifled a laugh. The kitsune and Inuyasha both turned bright red. That just made the girls laugh harder. Later, Aryana, Kagome, and Sango were out by the river, and the other two girls cornered Aryana.

"Tell us, come on," the girls begged her. "Who is he? What’s he like? Are you mated?" the girls asked her so many questions.

"The girl that I told you about is his ward. He’s funny when he wants to be. Which is only around Rin and me. We are mated. His mark is right here," Aryana pulled the neck of her shirt over to show her shoulder. On it, was a bite mark.

"What was it like?" Kagome asked. Aryana smiled. She remembered doing the same thing when her friend Selena had her first time.

(Don’t freak cause she was a virgin for so long. In my story, after a demon mates, they’re in it for life. Bringing new meaning to "Till Death Do Us Part" With that, demons have to find their true love, unless they want to kill their mate)

As Aryana told the girls about it, she never mentioned his name. "Crap! I was suppose to be looking for water!" Aryana jumped up. "They don’t know where I went!!" she hurried off into the woods. She caught Sesshomaru’s scent and ran for it.

"Where have you been?" he asked as she entered their camp.

"I’m sorry. I ran into an old friend and lost track of time," she explained. Rin was already asleep. Aryana sat down beside Sesshomaru and nestled into his chest. He put his arm around her, and held her close. They slept like that. Sesshomaru with his back against a tree, and Aryana with her head on his chest.

The next morning they set out. "I’m going to say good-bye to my friend. I’ll try not to take long," Aryana told Sesshomaru before leaving for Inuyasha’s camp.

"Sorry I ran off like that, but I forgot that I hadn’t told them where I was going," Aryana apologized to Inuyasha. "We’re leaving now. I just came back to say good-bye,"

"Do you really have to go?" Inuyasha asked.

"I can stay for a while, but no more than an hour," Aryana decided that she could catch up then.

"I haven’t seen you in 60 years. I’m not ready for you to go," Inuyasha crossed his arms.

"Do you think you could beat me at Mokami? It was always your favorite game," she suggested. Mokami was a game in which someone throws a rock into the air, and the two players try to break it without moving from their spots. I made it up.

"That would be great. I’ll get one of them to throw the rocks for us," Inuyasha said.

"And I’ll go get some good rocks," Aryana turned and headed for the river that was nearby. But about halfway to it, she heard the clash of metal behind her. "Great," she mumbled, running back for the clearing. There, she saw Sesshomaru and Inuyasha fighting in the clearing. "What’s going on?!?!?!" she demanded loudly, causing the two brothers to stop fighting. To the extreme shock of Inuyasha, she took a large jump and landed by Sesshomaru. "Now-- Inuyasha, Sesshomaru– why are you trying to kill each other?" she asked in a voice of forced calm. The two brothers sheathed their swords.

"How do you two know each other?" Inuyasha asked Sesshomaru.

"How do you two know each other?" Sesshomaru asked Aryana.

"How do you two know each other?" Aryana asked Inuyasha.

"He’s my half-brother," Inuyasha told Aryana.

"I raised him," Aryana told Sesshomaru.

"She is my mate," Sesshomaru told Inuyasha, putting his arm around Aryana’s waist.

"YOUR WHAT?!?!?!?" Inuyasha just about jumped out of his skin.

"You got a problem with that, Pup?!" Aryana asked, out of nowhere she was beside him, with a firm grip on his ear.

"Did you say you raised him?" Sesshomaru asked, ignoring Inuyasha.

"Yeah. Izayoi was my best friend. When she died, I got this bonehead of a half-demon," Aryana pulled on his ear, and Inuyasha howled in protest. She rolled her eyes and walked back to Sesshomaru’s side. He put his arm back around her waist, and Inuyasha just stood there, looking flustered. "Now explain the fighting," she ordered, to Inuyasha more than Sesshomaru. She was facing him so she directed the question to him.

"Not much beyond the fact that I’m a half-demon, in his case. But he tried to kill me, had a demon impersonate my mother to get the Black Pearl, tried to take my sword, and almost squashed Kagome. I think I’m a bit more justified in the hatred department," Inuyasha spouted off a list that made Sesshomaru want to find a sturdy tree to beat his head into. Now Aryana would be angry for weeks, or even longer. "I could think of more crap he’s done if you give me a minute," Inuyasha offered.

"That won’t be necessary. Would the defense like to present their case?" Aryana asked Sesshomaru.

"Excuse me?" Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at her, and Kagome’s eyes shot open.

"It’s a term from one of my for-a-while homes. It means I want to here your side of the story," she slapped her forehead.

"He disgraces the blood of our great and terrible father. I don’t see him as being worth the air he breathes," Sesshomaru said simply.

"I can see now, that this will cause problems," Aryana sighed, leaning into Sesshomaru’s chest a little more. Inuyasha fidgeted slightly, and that pissed her off. "Would you get a grip?! Stop acting like the ground is hot, and stand still!!!" she ordered. Sesshomaru had to make a great effort not to laugh, but a tiny smile made its way to his face. "Stop laughing," Aryana whispered to him.

"You weren’t even looking at my face," he defended.

"But I can feel you trying not to laugh," she looked up at him though her long lashes, like she did when she was about to explode, which wasn’t often. When she opened her mouth to say something, he stopped her with his lips.

Inuyasha’s mouth fell completely open. He had a clear view of her hickey, and he felt like his head would explode.

"I think we have a bit to talk about. So much for Mokami. Maybe next time. Goodbye Inuyasha," Aryana turned and walked out of the clearing. Once she was gone, Sesshomaru did something Inuyasha couldn’t have predicted.

He gave a confused ‘help me’ smile and shrugged his shoulders before following her.