AN: I do not own Bones or InuYasha. I simply play with the characters. Enjoy!

Kagome breathed a sigh as she stared at the empty courtyard of her family's shrine, bored out of her mind. It was her day off from work, and she had decided to come and visit her family. Only when she arrived she found out that her grandfather was in the hospital with a broken leg, her mother was visiting him, and her brother was at some school camp. And all this she only found out because she had called her mother's mobile phone when she noticed that no one was around.

"Kagome, could you look after the shrine store while I'm at the hospital today?" her mother had asked.

What could she have said? No? Not hardly. So here she was, waiting for the possibility of a customer wanting a charm, or a trinket of some kind. And what a small possibility that was. Almost no one bought her grandfather's worthless charms this time of year. At one point she had tried to help them drum up business by embedding her own spiritual energy into the charms. Unfortunately, just because they actually worked then didn't mean that people would buy them. So after some time she gave up and stopped putting her energy into them.

Hearing the crunch of leaves on stone she looked up hopefully. Was someone coming to buy something? Or was it her mother returning from the hospital? Either way it would help to relieve the boredom. She watched the entrance to the shrine intently as a man slowly finished walking up the stairs. By the time he had reached the top he looked slightly winded. Kagome mentally sighed. Although she knew some people just weren't in very good shape, it was kind of sad, she thought, that that was all it had taken for this guy to be out of breath.

Despite this fact he continued on towards the storehouse without pausing. When he reached it he smiled slightly. "You sure have a lot of steps," he commented lightly in Japanese. At least, Kagome was fairly certain it was supposed to be Japanese, though that wasn't what it sounded like. His accent was so thick, and he over-accented the syllables, making them sound abnormally forced. Then again, considering the fact that he was a foreigner, they probably were forced.

All the same, she couldn't help but laugh slightly out of embarrassment. "Yeah... sorry about that. That's just the way old shrines were built."

He shook his head. "I wasn't complaining." He paused, looking thoughtful before adding, "Did you know that in an average lifetime, a person will walk the equivalent of five times around the equator?"

Kagome blinked. What? Was he serious? Okay, maybe he just wasn't aware of what he said since Japanese was obviously not his first language. Yet something told her that he was being perfectly serious. Probably his eyes, he decided. His nice clear eyes looked deadly serious. Wait, nice clear eyes? What was she thinking? Brushing the thought off she shook her head.

"Uh... no, I didn't know that." And I'm pretty sure few people would, she wanted to add. "Did... did you want to buy something?"

"No, I- no, I don't. I just wanted to see what a Shinto shrine looks like."

Well that was... a bit disappointing. "Oh. I see."

The man hesitated before speaking again, looking nervous. "O-on second thought I think I would like to purchase something. How about... that on the wall behind you?" He blinked, than leaned forward across the counter to try and take a closer look at the object he had pointed out. "What... what is that? Is that a... a mummified hand?"

Kagome grimaced. That was precisely what it was. At least, according to Gramps it was. "You're better off not knowing," she told him with a groan. "Way better off."

Despite her words he still looked curious. "It doesn't look human," he murmured under his breath in English. "But it is definitely a hand."

"Alright!" Kagome moaned. "Alright, it's a hand. It's a freaking mummified kappa hand."

"A-a what?" he asked, confused.

"...a kappa hand. A... water sprite." She flushed. "My grandfather bought it off the internet and decided to try and sell it here."

"That's... weird."

"Don't I know it..." Smiling slightly she tilted her head to the side. "I'm Kagome by the way. Kagome Higurashi." Although it felt slightly strange to say her name in the Western order, she thought that she might as well.

"Vincent Nigel-Murray. Or Vince. Or-"

"I'll just call you Vince, okay?" she questioned, having a strange feeling that if she didn't cut him off he may decide to go on and on listing possible things for her to call him.

There was a meow from somewhere above their heads. Raising her head Kagome stared up at the ceiling of the small room. "Buyo, get off the roof!" she scolded the cat that she could now clearly hear scratching the wood with his claws. "And stop scratching!"

"Cats sleep on average sixteen to eighteen hours a day," Vince announced, also staring up at the roof.

Kagome felt the sudden urge to facepalm. Was he going to keep spouting out facts like that? They weren't even useful facts... just things that sort of related to what they were talking to but not really. "Um... is that so..."

"Yes. And while cats are quite good jumpers, the elephant is the only mammal who is incapable of doing the same?"

She should find him annoying. She knew she should find him annoying, but in a way his random fact spouting was actually quite charming. Though she doubted she would think it was so charming if he wasn't so cute. "I didn't know that one. Though I guess it isn't too surprising since elephants are so big."

"They are rather, aren't they?" he agreed, smiling broadly.

"So, would you still like the kappa hand?" Kagome asked him, grinning.

He shook his head. "Not really, no."

"I didn't think so." Feeling suddenly adventurous, and knowing that it was highly unlikely that anyone else would show up at the shop today she said, "Hey... would you like to get some tea with me?"

Much to her surprise he looked startled by her question. "T-tea? You want to get tea with me?"

Biting her lip Kagome nodded. "Yes. Is that... such a weird thing? I-I mean I know we just met, but it's around that time and I thought it may be nice."

"No, that's not what I meant. I'm just surprise that you want to have tea with me. I'd think you would find my... my habit annoying." Although he didn't clarify what his 'habit' was, she had a pretty good idea.

She shrugged. "Maybe a little. But I still want to. That is... if you want to...?"

"Of course I would. It would be my pleasure."

Kagome grinned again. "Great! Let me just close shop and go get changed. I'll be out as soon as I can, okay?"

He nodded. "Okay, I'll wait here." Like there was anywhere else he would wait.

As he watched her run off to the main house he closed his eyes briefly and smiled. Although Thailand was possibly the most amazing place he had visited on this trip, Japan could very possibly be a close second. Imagine, a girl he didn't even know inviting him to get tea. It was inconceivable, yet it had still happened. He opened his eyes at another meow. If he didn't know better, he would swear that the cat was giving him a warning stare. But that wasn't possible, it was only a cat.

A few minutes later Kagome appeared at his side. "Ready? I know the greatest place right near here!"

"Let's go then," he said.

AN: So... yes. My muse needs to be gotten under control. And yet at the same time I'm happy I've been able to write so much recently. I hope to update soon!

If there is a specific random fact you would like to see Vince say, than feel free to tell me. Or if there's anything else you want to see happen, go ahead and bring that up too and I'll see what I can do.