Raindrops pounded against the office window as a gust of wind blew through the bustling city. Inside the office buildings phones were ringing off the hook while people rushed to and fro attempting to meet their dead lines. On the fifteenth floor of one particular building, Inuyasha Tashio lay his head down on the oak desk and sighed. Mondays always seemed to pass slower than any other day, he felt as if he had been in the office for days when it was really only around lunchtime.

Lifting his head, Inuyasha flicked his amber gaze around the room. His in box was empty, all the filing had been finished long before, and there hadn't been a phone call in hours. Sighing again, Inuyasha ran a hand through his long, snow-white hair. His unique hair was a popular subject among the office workers, even though he was only 26 Inuyasha's hair was pure white, and had been for all his life.

"God I hate Mondays," Inuyasha groaned, leaning his chair all the way back.

His quiet murmurings were interrupted however, as his office door was thrown open. Surprised, Inuyasha almost toppled backwards out of his seat. Quickly regaining his composure, Inuyasha glared at the intruder.

"Inuyasha!" yelled Miroku Hosubo, his eyes wide in panic. "You have to help me out!"

Inuyasha's eyes widened slightly, he hadn't been expecting that. Usually when Miroku waltzed into his room it was because he wanted to brag about his marriage to Sango.

Straightening up in his seat Inuyasha looked at his friend.

"What's the big emergency?" he asked, curiosity evident on his face.

Miroku crossed the room quickly and sat in the chair opposite Inuyasha.
"Okay so Sango has this friend who owns an art gallery off of Third Ave. and she ordered a picture for her mom's birthday," Miroku said, leaning on the desk, desperation in his voice.

" So her mom's birthday is tonight and she wants me to pick up the painting. The only problem is that the gallery closes early tonight and I cant get away from work at all, not even for lunch!" Miroku exclaimed, now practically lying across the desk.

Inuyasha arched one eyebrow.

"And how do I fit into this little dilemma of yours?" he asked, beginning to feel suspicious.

Miroku gave a hopeful smile, "Well I was wondering if you might be free to go pick up the painting for me at lunch." He said, looking at his friend with puppy dog eyes.

Inuyasha groaned, leaning away from his desperate co-worker.

"Please Inuyasha!" Miroku pleaded, holding out his hands, "Sango will kill me if I don't get the painting!"

Inuyasha tried to resist, but he couldn't help but feel sorry for Miroku.

"Alright," Inuyasha said, rolling his eyes, "I'll pick up your stupid painting."

Miroku leapt up from his chair, "Yes! Thank you Inuyasha! You are the greatest person to ever be born into this world!"

Inuyasha shook his head at his friends antics, "Just give me the address already you idiot!"

The wipers on his cars ran furiously as Inuyasha drove down Third Avenue in the downpour. He glanced down at the paper Miroku had given him with the gallery's address written on it. Scanning ahead, Inuyasha spotted the right building and began his search for a parking space. His eyes widened in surprise as he spotted an open space just across the street from the gallery. Grinning slightly, he pulled into the space and turned off the ignition. Miroku had said that he would phone ahead to say that Inuyasha would be picking up the painting. Frowning, Inuyasha looked out his window, the rain was coming down in sheets, it was hard to see the other side of the street through it all. Mustering his courage, Inuyasha threw open the car door and stepped out into the rain. It was freezing cold and hit his face in icy blasts.

"Shit it's raining!" Inuyasha yelled in shock and slammed his door shut. He hurried across the street and practically dove through the gallery's front door. Happy to be out of the rain, Inuyasha shook his head in an almost dog like fashion and smacked his jacket a few times. When he was satisfied, Inuyasha moved his gaze to study his surroundings. The gallery was fairly large, with high white walls so as not to take attention from the artwork. Paintings of all sizes and colours lined the walls, each one beautiful and unique. Inuyasha whistled lowly, he had never been inside a gallery before; he had only passed by them. Turning around Inuyasha noticed a high desk in the front corner of the store with a bell to ring for service. He hadn't noticed that no one seemed to be inside the gallery until he saw the bell. Inuyasha walked over the desk and rang the bell twice. Leaning on the desk he continued to gaze at the paintings. After a few moments, he rang the bell twice more, irritation had begun to set in, he didn't like to be kept waiting. Inuyasha furrowed his brow and rang the bell once again.

"Hold on I'm coming!"

The voice seemed to be coming from above, glancing up Inuyasha spotted a wooden staircase that led to another floor over the gallery. Footsteps sounded above him as he waited to see who would come down the steps. Suddenly a young woman appeared at the top of the stairs and began to descend them. Inuyasha's gaze studied her as she came closer. She appeared to be a few years younger than him with long black hair that was pulled into a low ponytail and lay over her shoulder. She wore a pair of dark jeans and black high-heeled boots, over her torso; she wore a deep green blazer with multiple gold buttons. She has multiple ear piercing and wore golden bangles on both of her wrists.

As Inuyasha waited for her to reach the desk, he noticed that the girl was extremely pretty. Her face had sharp, angular features and her eyes were large and warm, a deep honey colour. Inuyasha found himself to be starring at her and quickly shook his head out of his stupor.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, the girl smiled at Inuyasha, "Sorry to keep you waiting," she apologized in a sweet, cheerful voice, "It's so hard to hear the bell from upstairs, I really should get some sort of buzzer."

Stricken by her appearance and good attitude, Inuyasha forgot his annoyance and smiled back at her.

"So," she said opening the register book on the desk, "how can I help you?" She looked up at Inuyasha with her warm eyes.

"Uhhh," he said, desperately trying to remember why he had come, "Oh I'm supposed to pick up a painting for my friend Miroku, he can't get here and Sango will kill him because it's for her mom and he's scarred of her, so he asked me to because we work together and I'm his friend."

Inuyasha mentally punched himself, 'You sound like a complete idiot'.

To his surprise the girl's face lit up. "Miroku called and said you would be here," she said, smiling widely at him, "I would have delivered it myself but I'm visiting my mom tonight so I have to close early."

Inuyasha smiled nervously, 'What the hell is wrong with me?' he thought, as he watched the girl rummage behind the desk.

Smiling triumphantly, she rose up holding a medium sized brown package, "Here we go," she said, setting the parcel on the counter as she finished filing out an order form.

Inuyasha starred at her as she wrote, something about her was so captivating. Shaking his head, Inuyasha tried to concentrate on something else.

"Alrighty," she said, filling out the last of the blank spaces, " she's all yours" She smiled as she slid the package towards him.

Inuyasha smiled back nervously and reached for the parcel. "What's your name?" he asked curiously, before he could stop himself.

The girl smiled, "Kagome Higurashi," she replied brightly, putting out her hand for him to shake.

Inuyasha found himself smiling back as he took her hand, "Inuyasha Tashio"

. Kagome's hand was soft and warm; it fit nicely in his own. Their hands remained locked together for a while longer as they looked at each other. Inuyasha found himself loving the way her eyes were so full of life and the way her smile lit up her entire face.

When they finally let go, Inuyasha stood where he was for a few moments before he remembered the package.

"Well thank you," he said, picking up the parcel and backing away slightly. "It was nice to meet you."

Kagome smiled back at him, watching as he moved across the room towards the door. "Your welcome," she replied, warmth in her voice, "it was really nice to meet you too."

Inuyasha put his hand on the door and was about to leave when he stopped and turned around.

"Do you work here all the time?" he asked, before quickly adding, "I mean, you know like, are you here most days?"

Kagome nodded her head enthusiastically, "Yeah," she said with excitement, " I here almost every day."

"So I could come in sometime and you could show me some paintings and art and stuff?" he asked stupidly, kicking himself mentally, she was going to tell him to get lost.

Kagome's face lit up even more if possible. "Yes," she replied hurriedly, "yeah that would be great, I mean fine, I mean, yeah that would be great." A slight blush painted Kagome's cheeks.

Inuyasha smiled happily, and once again reached for the door. "Well then I will see you again soon, right?" he said hopefully.

"Yeah, you will," Kagome replied happily.

"Bye"

"Bye"

Inuyasha pushed the glass door open and stepped outside into the rain; glancing back, he waved at Kagome who was watching from the desk. He smiled when she waved back, and he turned towards the rain. Suddenly it didn't seem so dark out anymore.