Disclaimer: Though I don't own Inuyasha and the rest, I do own Ari and Jin. I'd still rather have Inuyasha, though :(

Chapter 1- Encounters

It was just another summer night. Or it would have been, if Inuyasha and his friends weren't there. They were starving, having gone two days straight without eating. Kagome Higurashi was unconscious, and the others were close. Inuyasha was especially exhausted, after yet another battle with Naraku. Nothing seemed to be going right.

Out of the corner of his eye, Inuyasha thought he saw a glimpse of yellow. This is stupid, he thought to himself, I'm so hungry my mind is playing tricks on me. That's all.

Still, he was uneasy. What if it was a demon? None of them had the strength to fight right now. Shifting from foot to foot, he sniffed the air carefully. He could vaguely smell something that didn't belong. It only took
a minute for him to realize what it was. When he did, his eyes opened in terror. But as soon as he placed the scent, it disappeared.

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Backing away from the tree line, Ariadele brought her tail between her legs. She sighed as she did it, for she had hoped that she could watch these people without embarrassing herself. It wasn't a far-fetched dream- they
looked half-dead to her.

She combed her fingers through her long, black hair while she watched the dog-boy shift his gaze and sniff the air cautiously. Smiling to herself, she closed her eyes. It would be dumb to be caught after taking so many
precautions that way. Her yellow eyes had betrayed her one too many times for her liking.

Ari was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice as her tiger-striped tail slip out from between her legs and wag a little. She quickly realized her mistake, but by then it was too late.

She thought about running, but dismissed the thought immediately. If this demon challenged her, it would be simple to defeat him.

"Who the hell are you?!" Inuyasha screamed in her face as he ran into the trees.

"I'm Ariadele, a Tiger demon. And who, may I ask, are you?" Ari said with sarcastic politeness.

"A TIGER!!! But... they're extinct." Inuyasha stammered.

"Okay, first of all, we are NOT extinct. That's a very common mistake, though. In fact, everybody I run into seems to think that Tiger demons are extinct. Very strange. Back to the point... It's Tiger DEMON, not tiger!!!"

"Whatever. It doesn't matter. All you need to know about me is that I'm the demon that's going to kill you, tiger"

"Ya, right. First of all, you haven't even told me your name yet. Second of all, you don't even have the energy to kill a fly. And it's Tiger DEMON!!! How many times do I have to tell you that!!!" Ari yelled in agitation.

"My name is Inuyasha. Happy? And I could easily kill you. I mean, you're a thief and murderer. Why should I spare you?"

"I am NOT a thief, and definitely not a murderer. You shouldn't judge people, ya know," Ari countered, feeling hurt.

Inuyasha gritted his teeth. Most of the time, he could come up with an insult in a millisecond. This wasn't one of those times.

"Why you...why youu...why youuuuuuuu" Inuyasha yawned, trying to hold it back.

"Yeah, I'm really afraid of you right now. You look half-starved. Do you want me get you some food? It's no trouble," Ari offered.

"Like I'd accept help from a Tiger...demon," Inuyasha said, adding the last part when he saw Ari's face.

"Come to think of it, I'd really like some food right about now," Miroku said, joining in the "conversation". "You don't get to make the decisions for all of us, Inuyasha."

"Shut up and let me do the talking, monk."

"Then it's, uh, unanimous. I'll go and get some food," Ari said, glancing nervously between the monk and the dog boy. She didn't want to start a fight between friends, even if it would be enormously fun to watch.

Miroku suddenly noticed the Tiger demon standing next to him. "Well, who do we have here?" Miroku asked, smiling.

"Quit hitting on the Tiger demon, Miroku," Inuyasha said, disgusted.

Miroku looked to where Ari had stood a minute ago, but she had already left.

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Ari chased a rabbit through the forest. She didn't want to kill it, but those people had to eat. Also, they had insulted her by calling her a thief and murderer. She desperately wanted to prove them wrong.

After catching the rabbit, she headed back to Inuyasha and Miroku. If she had to kill the poor animal, they could skin it.

Soon, she started running. She had a feeling that someone was watching her. It never occurred to her that she might be right.

Ari was relieved when she reached the spot where she had left them. She gladly noted the surprised look on Inuyasha's face when she produce three rabbits from her pack.

"I'm not eating those things. They're probably poisoned," Inuyasha complained.

"Oh, don't worry. Once I cook them all the bacteria will be gone." Ari smiled generously.

"It wasn't bacteria I was worried about," Inuysha mumbled. "What, then...WHAT!!! How could you think that I poisoned the rabbits!!!"

"Couldn't... you just... smell the... poison," Miroku said through mouthfuls of food.

"Uh, Miroku, I was planning on cooking that. But if you really want it raw..."

Miroku stopped eating. As good as the raw rabbit was, it would be best cooked.

Ari started a fire while Inuyasha skinned the animals. As soon as she put the rabbits over the fire, everybody started waking up.

"Who are you?" Sango asked, a confused look on her face. 'And why are you cooking?"

"This is Ari. She's trying to kill us by feeding us poisoned rabbits," Inuyasha muttered.

"Inuyasha, GET OVER YOURSELF! Why would I want to kill you, half-breed," Ari steamed, annoyed with the hanyou.

For a moment, Inuyasha looked hurt. His ears flattened against his head. But he quickly recovered. However, Kagome spoke before he could.

"Um, Ari, you might not want to call him that. I mean, people used to say that to Inuyasha when he was a kid, and look how messed up he is now."

Inuyasha started nodding his head. "Yeah, what she sai... HEY!!! WAIT A MINUTE!!!"
"I was just being honest, Inuyasha. You don't have to take it so personally."

"Why you...why you... I oughta..." Inuyasha flamed.

"Inuyasha," Kagome calmly said with a smile.

"No... please..."

"OSUWARI"

Ari looked at the now face-down hanyou in awe. She was impressed.

"How did you do that! That was so...fun," she said.

"It's his little curse, see that necklace. As long as he wears it, I can say 'Osuwari" and he'll crash down like that anytime!"

Ari glanced at the necklace around Inuyasha's neck. "Osuwari!" she yelled, but was disappointed when nothing happened.

"Uhhh...it only works when I say it," Kagome explained.

"Oh," Ari muttered with a sad look on her face. She had been looking forward to making Inuyasha fall flat on his face again...and again.

Suddenly, the smell of fully-cooked rabbit reached Inuyasha's nose. He started licking his lips.

"Is the rabbit ready, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked, glancing at the hanyou. "Huh?" Inuyasha said intelligently.

Ari carefully slipped the rabbits off the spit as she cast a scared look Inuyasha's way. She was genuinely scared- she had no clue that anybody besides Jin could be that slow. She thought of something to test the dog
boy's reflexes.

All of a sudden, Inuyasha feels a thump on his head.

"Owww...wait, does this mean dinner's ready?"

"No, she just felt like throwing a half-cooked rabbit at your face," Shippou muttered sarcastically.

"Well, that is actually possible. It did bring on a certain sense of-satisfaction- throwing the rab...HEY!!! That was FULLY COOKED!" Ari yelled, annoyed with the kitsune pup. She then put the -cooked- rabbit on a plate she found in Kagome's pack.

Ari tore the rabbits into even pieces so everybody would have equal shares. Okay so they weren't -exactly- even, but she did her best. She was waiting for an apology from Inuyasha. It would be even more satisfying than throwing a rabbit at him. He wasn't very discreet after all.

"Guess you proved me wrong, tiger demon. This rabbit is the most -decent- thing I've had in months." Inuyasha pulled Ari in a headlock to get back at the rabbit –accident-

Silver eyes glared at them through the trees. He watched Ari struggle. She looked helpless trying to slip out of the dog boy's grasp. Shifting and shifting, the creature jumped out of the trees and lunged at Inuyasha, slashing claws toward his face.

"Dammit! This is not my day!" Inuyasha exclaimed, using what was left of his energy to block the creature.

The creature was a tiger, though it was kind of hard to tell since he was moving fast, seemingly to kill Inuyasha. His coat was a pure silver color that looked almost white. His silver eyes were filled with hate for this demon that had tried to hurt Ari.

Inuyasha pulled the Tetsusaiga out and pointed it at the tiger. The only problem was, he could hardly hold the sword up. He was simply too weak to fight. Still, he wouldn't let this monster hurt Kagome or any of his friends.

Ari stared at the tiger, trying to sort this all out. It couldn't be him, for he had been gone for over ten years. Still, this animal had the same color coat, not to mention the fact that he had attacked when Inuyasha had her in a headlock. It had only been for fun, but the tiger wouldn't have known that. When the tiger smiled in an almost mocking way, she knew it had to be him. No one else in the world had that particular smile.

A nice, kind person would have intervened once she figured out who this enemy was. But that's just not Ari. Instead, she leisurely leaned back on her elbows and watched the fight with interest. This should be good, she thought.

The tiger growled at the dog-demon in front of him. How dare this half-breed try to hurt Ari. He would have to teach him a lesson. A very painful lesson, hopefully. Still, the dog was an unworthy opponent. The hanyou was weak. How could something like this be able to hurt Ari? It didn't matter. The demon was going to pay.

Inuyasha saw the tiger prepare to attack. He tried his best to lift the Tetsusaiga, but it was no use. If only I had eaten the rabbit raw.

Ari watched the demon lunge at Inuyasha. It was so fun to watch, and she didn't want to stop it. So she didn't. Inuyasha needed to learn not to starve, ever. It's bad for health. And Jin needed to learn that Ari could take care of herself. She didn't need him to come to her rescue all the time.

Jin cursed himself as Inuyasha dodged his attack. It was surprising that the dog had been able to move that fast in his condition. It didn't matter- Jin always won his battles. The demons always ended up dead.

The tiger's second attack knocked Inuyasha to the ground. Placing both front paws on Inuyasha's chest, the tiger growled and prepared to kill. He barred his fangs and smiled that eerie tiger-smile.

Ari jumped up when she realized that Jin was about to kill. It had been great watching the fight, but she didn't want anyone dead. It was finally time that she intervened.

"Jin, don't kill him .He's my, uh, friend, for lack of a better term. Get off."

The tiger narrowed his eyes and let Inuyasha up. The others just stared in amazement. How did Ari get the tiger to stop attacking Inuyasha?

"Jin, this is Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, Miroku, and Shippou. Everyone, this is Jin, my brother."