They had told Ponell and Lonla that they were knocked out, and he was gone when the police arrived. The door sensor had picked up two demons going into the enclosure, and three coming out. It was assumed that the two went in and got him. Since it didn’t pick up human presences, there was no way to pin it on anyone there.

Darby had run away from home, and was now traveling with the Shard Hunters. She loved it in the Feudal Era, and was a natural born fighter. She could wield a sword, shoot an arrow, and was now being trained as a Slayer by Sango. The young girl held onto her Goth appearance, even in traditional clothes. All in black, with just as much makeup.

Aryana spent the month suffering acute heartache. She was glad that he was free, but she missed Sesshomaru. She knew that he would never let their relationship carry into this time, but she wanted nothing more than to run her fingers through his hair again. To know that the Great Demon Lord trusted her. She held onto the way his arms had felt around her. If she never got to feel them again, she didn’t want to forget it.

As she wondered aimlessly through the trees, she thought of him. She let out her pain through a song that she had written recently. Lately, it seemed like songs were the only way she could let anything out.

Although she hadn’t meant for anyone to hear her, a pair of demonic ears picked up the sound. He had been trying so hard not to go to her. He thought of her soulful eyes, her silken hair, her beautiful voice. Then there was the way she had felt against his chest. To have her in his arms was heaven and it had been the only peaceful sleep he had gotten the whole time he was there. Now he heard her voice once more, and he had to go to her. If he pushed away the need for her any longer, it would hurt him in more ways than one.

He ran through the trees, catching her intoxicating scent. He came upon her, walking through the trees with a far away look in her eyes. When he landed in her path, she snapped out of her trance.

"Sesshomaru," she whispered. Before she could say anything more, she found herself in his strong arms.

"I tried so hard not to love. Rin put a crack in the dam, but you broke it. My heart is open to you," he whispered into her ear. Just being in his arms again was wonderful. The feeling of his hot breath on her skin made her take a sharp breath. And his words made her wrap her arms around him.

"I love you, Sesshomaru," she whispered into his shoulder.

"I don’t know why you would love me. That is what troubles me," he told her softly. She caught the other meaning behind his words, as no other could have.

"I will never hurt you, I promise. I know what it is to be let down. I would never cause you pain. I would never pretend to love you. I want you to be happy," she told him, looking into his deep golden eyes.

"Do you trust me?" he asked suddenly.

"With my life," she said, without a second thought.

"Do you know me?" he asked. Once again she caught the second meaning in his words.

"You are hardheaded, egotistical, cold-acting," she said. She felt his spirit drop, and he started to pull away from her. "I’m not done," she told him, holding on tighter. He looked down at her with pain and confusion in his eyes. "You are also strong in more ways than anyone I’ve ever know. You are intelligent, warmhearted, and trustworthy. And when you hold me I feel like part of me was missing and it just falls into place. I love everything about you. The good, and the things that others seen to see as bad. I will never see a small imperfection as bad, not when you are perfect in every other way," she told him, caressing the side of his face with her small hand.

Love filled the eyes of the two demons as they stood there, holding each other close. Then it started to rain and the two found shelter in a average-sized cave. He surprised her, when she found herself under him. He kissed her passionately, slipping his tongue in between her full lips. She tasted better than she smelled, and he was beyond losing his cool. He wanted her.

As he kissed her, she ran her hands from his neck into his hair, tangling her fingers in it, and deepening the kissing. He let a growl of pleasure escape into her open mouth, and it shook in her chest causing her to moan softly in his mouth, which made the growl increase. She thought she would die of the feeling that the growl sent through her whole body. Her moan became stronger as the growl rumbled through her body.

He pulled back and looked down into her eyes. "I want you," he said breathlessly. His hot breath washed over her face, causing her to almost moan again. As a response, she pulled him back down into the kiss. He had to fight the growl that threatened to rise in his chest. The night was filled with moans and growls and groans from the two lovers.

The next morning, Aryana went back to her camp and collected her things. Then, she and Darby left for the Western Castle with Lord Sesshomaru, to begin their new lives. Aryana found the love that she so craved. And Darby finally had the family that she had never really had with her parents. Sesshomaru had someone that understood him, and two people who accepted him without a second thought. They joined Rin and Jaken and headed for his castle.

This was truly the beginning of their story. But sadly it is the end of mine.